Si-Based Hydrogen-Producing Nanoagent Protects Fetuses From Miscarriage Caused by Mother-to-Child Transmission

Noriyoshi Usui; Shogo Togawa; Takuya Sumi; Yuki Kobayashi; Yoshihisa Koyama; Yukiko Nakamura; Makoto Kondo; Koh Shinoda; Hikaru Kobayashi; Shoichi Shimada

doi:10.3389/fmedt.2021.665506

Si-Based Hydrogen-Producing Nanoagent Protects Fetuses From Miscarriage Caused by Mother-to-Child Transmission

Front Med Technol. 2021 May 13:3:665506. doi: 10.3389/fmedt.2021.665506. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Noriyoshi Usui^{1

2

3

4}, Shogo Togawa^{1

5}, Takuya Sumi^{1

6}, Yuki Kobayashi⁷, Yoshihisa Koyama^{1

4}, Yukiko Nakamura^{1

4}, Makoto Kondo^{1

4}, Koh Shinoda⁵, Hikaru Kobayashi⁷, Shoichi Shimada^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
² United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
³ Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
⁴ Addiction Research Unit, Osaka Psychiatric Research Center, Osaka Psychiatric Medical Center, Osaka, Japan.
⁵ Division of Neuroanatomy, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
⁷ Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Japan.

Abstract

Mother-to-child transmission of viruses and bacteria increases the risk of miscarriage and various diseases in children. Such transmissions can result in infections and diseases in infants or the induction of an inflammatory immune response through the placenta. Recently, we developed a silicon (Si)-based hydrogen-producing nanoagent (Si-based agent) that continuously and effectively produces hydrogen in the body. Since medical hydrogen has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, and antiapoptotic effects, we investigated the effects of our Si-based agent on mother-to-child transmission, with a focus on the rate of miscarriage. In pregnant mice fed a diet containing the Si-based agent, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced miscarriage due to mother-to-child transmission was reduced and inflammation and neutrophil infiltration in the placenta were suppressed. We also found that the Si-based agent suppressed IL-6 expression in the placenta and induced the expression of antioxidant and antiapoptotic genes, such as Hmox1 and Ptgs2. The observed anti-inflammatory effects of the Si-based agent suggest that it may be an effective preventative or therapeutic drug for miscarriage or threatened miscarriage during pregnancy by suppressing maternal inflammation caused by bacterial and viral infections.

Keywords: hydrogen; inflammation; maternal-fetal infection; miscarriage; nanoagents; oxidative stress; placenta; silicon.