The effect of weak magnetic fields on the production of reactive oxygen species in neutrophils

Abstract

It was shown that a 1-h-long exposure of mouse peritoneal neutrophils to a combination of a weak constant magnetic field (42 μT) and low-frequency alternating magnetic fields collinear to the weak constant magnetic field (the sum of the frequencies 1.0, 4.4, and 16.5 Hz; amplitude, 0.86 μT) at physiological temperatures caused an increase in the intracellular production of reactive oxygen species, as measured by the changes in fluorescence of the products of 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein and dihydrorhodamine 123 oxidation. The effect of weak magnetic fields was significantly more pronounced in the presence of low concentrations of respiratory burst activators (N-formyl-Met–Leu–Phe or phorbol 12-meristate-13-acetate).