Inhibition of retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats by inhalation of low-concentration hydrogen gas.

Purpose: To investigate the inhibitory effect of hydrogen gas inhalation on retinal ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury using a rat model.

Methods: Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. A 27G needle connected by a tube to a saline bottle placed 200 cm above the eye was inserted into the anterior eye chamber to create a rat retinal I/R model. In the ischemia-plus-hydrogen-gas group (H( +) group), the ischemia time was set to 90 min, and 1.8% hydrogen was added to the air delivered by the anesthesia mask simultaneously with the start of ischemia. In the non-hydrogen-treatment ischemia group (H( -) group), I/R injury was created similarly, but only air was inhaled. ERGs were measured; after removal of the eyes, the retina was examined for histological, immunostaining, and molecular biological analyses.

Results: The mean thickness of the inner retinal layer in the H( +) group was 107.2 ± 16.0 μm (n = 5), significantly greater than that in the H( -) group (60.8 ± 6.7 μm). Immunostaining for Iba1 in the H( -) group showed increased numbers of microglia and microglial infiltration into the subretinal space, while there was no increase in microglia in the H( +) group. B-wave amplitudes in the H( +) group were significantly higher than in the H( -) group. In the membrane antibody array, levels of interleukin-6, monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and tumor necrosis factor alpha were significantly lower in the H( +) group than in the H( -) group.

Conclusion: Inhalation of 1.8% hydrogen gas inhibited the induction of inflammation, morphological/structural changes, and glial cell increase caused by retinal I/R injury.