Effect of time-varied magnetic field on inflammatory response in macrophage cell line RAW 264.7

The aim of this feasibility study was to determine the effectiveness of a commercially manufactured magnetic field (MF) device as an adjunct to pharmaceuticals during acute phase inflammatory response. The goal was to determine if inflammatory response interleukins IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) would be affected by a 30 Hz time-varying magnetic field (MF). RAW 264.7 macrophage-like cells were induced with Gram-negative bacteria lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to initiate an acute inflammatory reaction. Following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment, both inflamed and control cells were exposed to MF for 1 h. After MF exposure, cytokines of interest were measured and compared with controls. Outcomes revealed that LPS challenged cells continuously exposed to a 30 Hz time-varying magnetic field for 1 h demonstrated significant changes compared with controls. From cytokine test it was determined that MF exposure significantly decreased levels of IL-6 and IL-10 compared to unexposed counterparts. TNF-α production was significantly affected when MF was applied to cells only, but not to inflamed cells. Results suggest that the biological effect of 1 h exposure to a 30 Hz time-varied magnetic field may act to down regulate specific cytokines in an inflamed environment.