title: Effects of low-intensity AC and/or DC electromagnetic fields on cell attachment and induction of apoptosis.
abstract: Rat tendon fibroblast (RTF) and rat bone marrow (RBM) osteoprogenitor cells were cultured and exposed to AC and/or DC magnetic fields in a triaxial Helmholtz coil in an incubator for up to 13 days. The AC fields were at 60 and 1000 Hz and up to 0.25 mT peak to peak, and the DC fields were up to 0.25 mT. At various combinations of field strengths and frequencies, AC and/or DC fields resulted in extensive detachment of preattached cells and prevented the normal attachment of cells not previously attached to substrates. In addition, the fields resulted in altered cell morphologies. When RTF and RBM cells were removed from the fields after several days of exposure, they partially reattached and assumed more normal morphologies. An additional set of experiments described in the Appendix corroborates these findings and also shows that low-frequency EMF also initiates apoptosis, i.e., programmed cell death, at the onset of cell detachment. Taken together, these results suggest that the electromagnetic fields result in significant alterations in cell metabolism and cytoskeleton structure. Further work is required to determine the relative effect of the electric and magnetic fields on these phenomena. The research has implications for understanding the role of fields in affecting bone healing in fracture nonunions, in cell detachment in cancer metastasis, and in the effect of EMF on organisms generally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Hospital for Joint Diseases Orthopaedic Institute, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Breger
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zychlinsky
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kuznetsov
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dorfman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002452:Cell Count; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000528:radiation effects; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011419:Propidium; D051381:Rats; D013710:Tendons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D011419:Propidium