In vitro effects of 50 Hz magnetic fields on oxidatively damaged rabbit red blood cells.
Fiorani M, Biagiarelli B, Vetrano F, Guidi G, Dachà M, Stocchi V. · 1997
View Original AbstractA 0.5 mT, 50 Hz magnetic field increased oxidative damage in rabbit red blood cells already stressed by a free-radical system, but had no effect on intact cells.
Plain English Summary
Researchers investigated the effects of 50 Hz magnetic fields (0.2–0.5 mT) on rabbit red blood cells exposed at the same time to an oxygen radical-generating system, Fe(II)/ascorbate. A 0.5 mT magnetic field had no effect on intact red blood cells, but when cells were already under oxidative stress, exposure caused a significant further decay in hexokinase activity of about 20% and a twofold increase in methemoglobin production. The researchers concluded that the magnetic fields studied were able to potentiate the cellular damage induced in vitro by oxidizing agents.
Why This Matters
The study examined rabbit red blood cells exposed simultaneously to a magnetic field and an oxygen radical-generating system, Fe(II)/ascorbate. The oxidant system used, Fe(II)/ascorbate, was already known from the same laboratory to cause hexokinase inactivation and depletion of reduced glutathione in rabbit red blood cells. The magnetic field appeared to worsen damage only when cells were already under oxidative stress, since intact cells showed no effect. The researchers noted that further studies would be needed to determine the physiological implications of these findings.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.2–0.5 mT
- Source/Device
- 50-Hz
Exposure Context
This study used 0.2–0.5 mT for magnetic fields:
- 10Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 2Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 50 Hz magnetic fields (0.2–0.5 mT) on rabbit red blood cells (RBCs) that were exposed simultaneously to the action of an oxygen radical-generating system, Fe(II)/ascorbate.
Previous data obtained in our laboratory showed that the exposure of rabbit erythrocytes or reticulo...
The results obtained indicate that a 0.5 mT magnetic field had no effect on intact RBCs, whereas it ...
Although further studies will be needed to determine the physiological implications of these data, the results reported in this study demonstrate that the effects of the magnetic fields investigated are able to potentiate the cellular damage induced in vitro by oxidizing agents.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_1997_in_vitro_effects_of_365,
author = {Fiorani M and Biagiarelli B and Vetrano F and Guidi G and Dachà M and Stocchi V.},
title = {In vitro effects of 50 Hz magnetic fields on oxidatively damaged rabbit red blood cells.},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1002/(SICI)1521-186X(1997)18:2%3C125::AID-BEM5%3E3.0.CO;2-4},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/(SICI)1521-186X(1997)18:2%3C125::AID-BEM5%3E3.0.CO;2-4},
}