Magnetic fields and lipoic acid influence the respiratory burst in activated rat peritoneal neutrophils

Abstract

When rat (Sprague–Dawley, male) peritoneal neutrophils are exposed to 60 Hz, 1 Gauss, magnetic fields and activated by phorbor 12-myristate 13-acetate they undergo an enhanced respiratory burst (S. Roy, Y. Noda, V. Eckert, M.G. Traber, A. Mori, R.P. Liburdy, L. Packer, The phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced oxidative burst in rat peritoneal neutrophils is increased by a 0. 1 mT (60 Hz) magnetic field, FEBS Lett. 376 (1996) 164–6). In the present study, the reproducibility of these previous findings was confirmed using a new dual-monochrometer exposure system; a 1 Gauss, 60 Hz magnetic field enhanced the production of fluorescence during the respiratory burst. Dose–response studies employed static DC magnetic fields of up to 20 Gauss. Both static DC fields (2.5 and 20 Gauss) showed enhancement of fluorescence production during the respiratory burst. Pre-treatment of neutrophil cells for 10 min at 37°C with an antioxidant, lipoic acid (1–100 μM), significantly elevates fluorescence production in a dose–response manner. The combination of lipoic acid pre-treatment and DC field (2.5 Gauss) exposure further enhanced fluorescence.