title: The effect of 2450 MHz microwave radiation on histamine secretion by rat peritoneal mast cells.
abstract: Isolated rat peritoneal mast cells actively secrete histamine in response to reaginic or chemical stimulation. Mast cells were irradiated in a waveguide microwave exposure chamber at 2450 MHz with power absorptions of 8.2 and 41.0 mW/g for periods up to 3 h. These levels of microwave absorption caused no change in the morphological characteristics or viability of the cells. Irradiated mast cells were stimulated with compound 48/80, a potent, noncytotoxic histamine releasing agent. The dose response curves showed that neither prior nor simultaneous irradiation of mast cells at 37 degrees C affected 48/80-induced secretion. However, microwave power absorptions of 41.0 mW/g inhibited secretion at 44.0 degrees C. Precise measurements of the effect of heat on secretion indicated that this level of inhibition could have been produced by a radiation induced increase in cell temperature between 0.4 and 0.9 degrees C above ambient levels. Alternatively, the heat stress produced at 44 degrees C may have sensitized the cells to the electromagnetic effects of the microwave radiation. Rat peritoneal mast cells can therefore be useful as a model for the study of functioning secretory cells during microwave irradiation and can also be used to monitor the synergistic effects of cell heating during in vitro exposure.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006636:Histamine Release / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008872:Microwaves; D051381:Rats; D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003189:p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine