Effect of 72 Hz pulsed magnetic field exposure on macromolecular synthesis in CCRF-CEM cells

Cells from the T-lymphoblastoid cell line, CCRF-CEM, have been exposed in vitro to a quasirectangular, asymmetric electromagnetic field pulsed at 72 Hz at 37 degrees for periods of 30 min to 24 h. RNA synthesis, assessed by incorporation of 3H-uridine, increased (relative to control cells) 2-fold after 30 min in exposed cells and achieved its greatest increase of 3.2-fold relative to controls after 2 h exposure. Increased precursor incorporation was observed at all subsequent exposure times up to 24 h. Synthesis of mRNA was similar, but not identical to that observed with total cellular RNA. Additionally, protein synthesis, determined by incorporation of radioactive precursor into acid-precipitable material, was increased 2.8-fold, compared to controls, after 2 h exposure. Longer exposure times resulted in an exponential decrease in precursor incorporation to 1.1-times control levels after 24 h. Using a dye reduction assay, mitochondrial activity was also found to be increased over a 24 h exposure period. No effect of electromagnetic field exposure was found on cellular synthesis of DNA. These data are generally consistent with other reports documenting effects of electromagnetic field exposure on macromolecular synthesis in vitro.