title: Formation of osteoclast-like cells is suppressed by low frequency, low intensity electric fields.
abstract: With use of a solenoid to generate uniform time-varying electric fields, the effect of extremely low frequency electric fields on osteoclast-like cell formation stimulated by 1,25(OH)2D3 was studied in primary murine marrow culture. Recruitment of osteoclast-like cells was assessed by counting multinuclear, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positive cells on day 8 of culture. A solenoid was used to impose uniform time-varying electric fields on cells; sham exposures were performed with an identical solenoid with a null net electric field. During the experiments, both solenoids heated interiorly to approximately 1.5 degrees C above ambient incubator temperature. As a result of the heating, cultures in the sham solenoid formed more osteoclast-like cells than those on the incubator shelf (132 +/- 12%). For this reason, cells exposed to the sham solenoid were used for comparison with cultures exposed to the active coil. Marrow cells were plated at 1.4 x 10(6)/cm2 in square chamber dishes and exposed to 60 Hz electric fields at 9.6 muV/cm from days 1 to 8. Field exposure inhibited osteoclast-like cell recruitment by 17 +/- 3% as compared with sham exposure (p < 0.0001). Several variables, including initial cell plating density, addition of prostaglandin E2 to enhance osteoclast-like cell recruitment, and field parameters, were also assessed. In this secondary series, extremely low frequency fields inhibited osteoclast-like cell formation by 24 +/- 4% (p < 0.0001), with their inhibitory effect consistent throughout all variations in protocol. These experiments demonstrate that extremely low intensity, low frequency sinusoidal electric fields suppress the formation of osteoclast-like cells in marrow culture. The in vitro results support in vivo findings that demonstrate that electric fields inhibit the onset of osteopenia and the progression of osteonecrosis; this suggests that extremely low frequency fields may inhibit osteoclast recruitment in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia, 30033, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: McLeod
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Titus
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nanes
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Catherwood
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Rubin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018003:Receptors, Calcitonin / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D018003:Receptors, Calcitonin