In Vitro Analysis of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Inhomogeneous Static Magnetic Field-Exposure on Human Macrophages and Lymphocytes

TLDR

The study examined how inhomogeneous static magnetic field exposure affects cytokine production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro. Human PBMC cultures were activated with LPS, then exposed to SMF for up to 24 h while IL‑6, IL‑8, TNF‑α, and IL‑10 secretion was quantified by ELISA. SMF exposure induced morphological changes, was toxic to lymphocytes, reduced pro‑inflammatory cytokines (IL‑6, IL‑8, TNF‑α) from macrophages, increased anti‑inflammatory IL‑10, and decreased IL‑6 from lymphocytes, confirming SMF’s anti‑inflammatory effects.

Abstract

The effect of inhomogeneous static magnetic field (SMF)-exposure on the production of different cytokines from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBC), i.e., lymphocytes and macrophages, was tested in vitro. Some cultures were activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at time point -3 h and were either left alone (positive control) or exposed to SMF continuously from 0 until 6, 18, or 24 h. The secretion of interleukin IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor TNF-α, and IL-10 was tested by ELISA. SMF-exposure caused visible morphological changes on macrophages as well as on lymphocytes, and also seemed to be toxic to lymphocytes ([36.58; 41.52]%, 0.308≤p≤0.444), but not to macrophages (<1.43%, p≥0.987). Analysis of concentrations showed a significantly reduced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α from macrophages compared to negative control ([56.78; 87.52]%, p = 0.031) and IL-6 compared to positive control ([45.15; 56.03]%, p = 0.035). The production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 from macrophages and from lymphocytes was enhanced compared to negative control, significantly from lymphocytes ([-183.62; -28.75]%, p = 0.042). The secretion of IL-6 from lymphocytes was significantly decreased compared to positive control ([-115.15; -26.84]%, p = 0.039). This massive in vitro evidence supports the hypotheses that SMF-exposure (i) is harmful to lymphocytes in itself, (ii) suppresses the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, and (iii) assists the production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10; thus providing a background mechanism of the earlier in vivo demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects of SMF-exposure.