Hydrogen-rich water improves skeletal muscle damage in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Objective To study the beneficial effect of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) on skeletal muscle damage in mice with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Methods Wild-type C57BL/6J mice served as the normal control group, and mdx mice were randomly divided into the model and HRW groups, with six mice in each group. The HRW treatment lasted for 8 weeks. Grip strength and rod turning tests were employed to assess the motor ability. Creatine kinase (CK) levels were measured using an Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Histological staining of skeletal muscle was conducted to observe the pathological changes of skeletal muscle tissue, and immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining were used to detect the expression of dystrophin protein. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of the mitochondria in each group. Results Compared with the model group, the grip value and drop time of mice in the HRW group increased by 59.01% and 54.32% ( P  < 0.001), respectively, and the CK level decreased by 26.25% ( P  < 0.01). Histological staining revealed certain improvements in the architecture and enzymology of skeletal muscle in the HRW group, with decreased muscle interstitium and increased muscle content. Ultrastructural observation demonstrated that the mitochondrial morphology was improved and that vacuolation was reduced, and immunological detection indicated slight expression of dystrophin protein. Conclusion The results showed that HRW improved the muscle damage in DMD model mice.