Slight Deuterium Enrichment in Water Acts as an Antioxidant: Is Deuterium a Cell Growth Regulator?

• Published in: Molecular & cellular proteomics Vol. 19; no. 11; pp. 1790 - 1804
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xuepei, Wang, Jin, Zubarev, Roman A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-11-2020; The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: antioxidant; cell growth regulator; chemoproteomics; deuterium effect; deuterium-enriched water; Mass spectrometry; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; oxidation-reduction balance; oxidative stress; quantification; redox balance; thiol redox chemistry; antioxidant; oxidation-reduction balance; quantification; chemoproteomics; deuterium effect; thiol redox chemistry; redox balance; cell growth regulator; deuterium-enriched water; Mass spectrometry; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 1535-9476; 1535-9484; 1535-9484
• DOI: 10.1074/mcp.RA120.002231

A slight (≈2-fold) enrichment of deuterium in water accelerates human cell growth. Quantitative MS based proteomics determined changes in protein abundances and redox states and found that deuterium-enriched water acts mainly through decreasing ROS production in mitochondria. This action is opposite to that of deuterium depletion that suppresses cell growth by inducing oxidative stress. Thus deuterium may be a natural cell growth regulator that controls mitochondrial oxidation-reduction balance. The role of isotopic resonance in this effect was validated by further experiments on bacteria.
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Highlights
•Deuterium enrichment to 350 ppm accelerates cell proliferation, which is opposite to that of deuterium depletion to 80 ppm.•The cell proliferation increases through decreasing ROS amount in mitochondria.•Deuterium enriched water acts as an anti-oxidant.•Deuterium may be a cell growth regulator in the interval between 80 and 350 ppm.
Small admixtures in water, e.g. of metal ions, often act as cell growth regulators. Here we report that enrichment of deuterium content in water, normally found at 8 mm concentration, two-three folds increases cell proliferation and lowers the oxidative stress level as well. Acting as an anti-oxidant, deuterium-enriched water prevents the toxic effect of such oxidative agents as hydrogen peroxide and auranofin. This action is opposite to that of deuterium depletion that is known to suppress cell growth and induce oxidative stress in mitochondria. We thus hypothesize that deuterium may be a natural cell growth regulator that controls mitochondrial oxidation-reduction balance. Because growth acceleration is reduced approximately by half by addition to water a minute amount (0.15%) of 18O isotope, at least part of the deuterium effect on cell growth can be explained by the isotopic resonance phenomenon. A slight (≈2-fold) enrichment of deuterium in water accelerates human cell growth. Quantitative MS based proteomics determined changes in protein abundances and redox states and found that deuterium-enriched water acts mainly through decreasing ROS production in mitochondria. This action is opposite to that of deuterium depletion that suppresses cell growth by inducing oxidative stress. Thus deuterium may be a natural cell growth regulator that controls mitochondrial oxidation-reduction balance. The role of isotopic resonance in this effect was validated by further experiments on bacteria.