A novel method of preserving cardiac grafts using a hydrogen-rich water bath.

Abstract

Using a rat heterotopic cardiac transplantation model, this study examined the efficacy of cold organ storage in a hydrogen-rich water bath generated by an electrolyzer. Both syngeneic grafts from elderly donors (60–70-week-old Lewis rats) and allografts from adult donors (12-week-old Brown Norway rats) underwent prolonged cold preservation in Celsior solution within bags immersed in the hydrogen-saturated bath. Control grafts showed marked elevation of serum troponin I and creatine phosphokinase at 3 hours post-reperfusion, accompanied by neutrophil infiltration and upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine mRNAs. Grafts preserved in the hydrogen-rich bath demonstrated significantly reduced myocardial injury and inflammatory responses, along with decreased mitochondrial damage and higher adenosine triphosphate content. These findings indicate that hydrogen delivery via a water bath during cold storage effectively mitigates ischemia-reperfusion injury in cardiac grafts.

Mechanism

Hydrogen exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects that suppress reactive oxygen species generated during cold ischemia-reperfusion, thereby reducing neutrophil infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and mitochondrial damage while preserving ATP content in cardiac grafts.