title: Attenuation of cigarette smoke-induced airway mucus production by hydrogen-rich saline in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over-production of mucus is an important pathophysiological feature in chronic airway disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Cigarette smoking (CS) is the leading cause of COPD. Oxidative stress plays a key role in CS-induced airway abnormal mucus production. Hydrogen protected cells and tissues against oxidative damage by scavenging hydroxyl radicals. In the present study we investigated the effect of hydrogen on CS-induced mucus production in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: sham control, CS group, hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment group and hydrogen-rich saline control group. Lung morphology and tissue biochemical changes were determined by immunohistochemistry, Alcian Blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining, TUNEL, western blot and realtime RT-PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment attenuated CS-induced mucus accumulation in the bronchiolar lumen, goblet cell hyperplasia, muc5ac over-expression and abnormal cell apoptosis in the airway epithelium as well as malondialdehyde increase in the BALF. The phosphorylation of EGFR at Tyr1068 and Nrf2 up-regulation expression in the rat lungs challenged by CS exposure were also abrogated by hydrogen-rich saline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hydrogen-rich saline pretreatment ameliorated CS-induced airway mucus production and airway epithelium damage in rats. The protective role of hydrogen on CS-exposed rat lungs was achieved at least partly by its free radical scavenging ability. This is the first report to demonstrate that intraperitoneal administration of hydrogen-rich saline protected rat airways against CS damage and it could be promising in treating abnormal airway mucus production in COPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yunye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Haidong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jingxi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yuchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wujian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Changhai Hospital, the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D020397:Goblet Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D006965:Hyperplasia; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D055271:Mucin 5AC / Q000378:metabolism; D009093:Mucus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000737:chemistry*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: C524680:Muc5ac protein, rat; D055271:Mucin 5AC; D012906:Smoke; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D006859:Hydrogen; C483803:Egfr protein, rat; D066246:ErbB Receptors