Hydrogen prevents corneal endothelial damage in phacoemulsification cataract surgery

• Published in: Scientific reports 2016-08, Vol.6 (1), p.31190-31190, Article 31190
• Main Authors: Igarashi, Tsutomu, Ohsawa, Ikuroh, Kobayashi, Maika, Igarashi, Toru, Suzuki, Hisaharu, Iketani, Masumi, Takahashi, Hiroshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 14/1; 692/699/3161/3163; 692/699/3161/3168; 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine; Animals; Catalase; Cataract - metabolism; Cataract - pathology; Cataracts; Cornea; Cornea - metabolism; Cornea - pathology; Cornea - surgery; Edema; Electron spin resonance; Endothelial cells; Endothelium; Endothelium - injuries; Endothelium - metabolism; Endothelium - pathology; Fluorescein; Heme; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogen - pharmacology; Hydroxyl radicals; Image processing; Immunohistochemistry; Male; mRNA; multidisciplinary; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction - drug effects; Oxidative stress; Oxygenase; Phacoemulsification; Polymerase chain reaction; Rabbits; Science; Superoxide dismutase; Surgery; Ultrasound
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep31190

In phacoemulsification, ultrasound induces hydroxyl radical (·OH) formation, damaging corneal endothelium. Whether H 2 can prevent such oxidative damage in phacoemulsification was examined by in vitro and in vivo studies. H 2 was dissolved in a commercial irrigating solution. The effects of H 2 against ·OH generation were first confirmed in vitro by electron-spin resonance (ESR) and hydroxyphenyl fluorescein (HPF). ESR showed a significantly decreased signal magnitude and fluorescence intensity by oxidized HPF was significantly less in the H 2 -dissolved solution. The effects of H 2 in phacoemulsification were evaluated in rabbits, comparing H 2 -dissolved and control solutions. Five hours after the procedure, the whole cornea was excised and subjected to image analysis for corneal edema, real-time semiquantitative PCR (qPCR) for heme oxygenase (HO)-1, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and SOD2 mRNA and immunohistochemistry. Corneal edema was significantly less and the increases in anti-oxidative HO-1, CAT and SOD2 mRNA expressions were significantly suppressed in the H 2 group. In addition, corneal endothelial cell expressions of two oxidative stress markers, 4-HNE and 8-OHdG, were significantly lower in the H 2 group. In conclusion, H 2 dissolved in the ocular irrigating solution protected corneal endothelial cells from phacoemulsification-induced oxidative stress and damage.