Effect of Magnetic Field on Cells
Yuta Morioka, Shigehiro Hashimoto, Chiaki Miyamoto,
Yusuke Morita, Takayuki Sekiyama, Tomohiro Sahara,
Kenichi Yamasaki, Hideo Kondo, Teruyuki Yamanari,
Yoshiaki Hirano
Biomedical Engineering, Dept. of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineering,Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka, 535-8585, Japan
hasimoto@elc.oit.ac.jp
andHajime Otani, Hiroji Imamura
Dept. of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kansai Medical University
Moriguchi, JapanABSTRACT
The effect of the electromagnetic field at highfrequencies on cells was investigated in vitro.
Rat’s fibroblasts were cultured and exposed tothe
electromagnetic
fieldcontinuously
generated from a cellular phone for five days.
The experimental results show only minor
effects of the electromagnetic field from cellular
phone of 10 W/m2 at 800 MHz on proliferationof cells and on destruction of cells.
Theresults also indicate possible effects of theelectromagnetic field on arrangement of cells
and on synthesis of protein in cells.
Keywords: Bio-measurement, Electromagnetic
field, Cells, Cellular phone, Proliferation,Arrangement, Synthesis of protein

effects on cells [1]. Another experiment showsthat the molecules of collagen orient along thestatic magnetic field.
The authors reported the effect of the magnetic
field at the low frequency on arrangement ofcells in the previous study [2]. The effect ofthe magnetic field at the low frequency on
synthesis of protein was also discussed [3].
Thermal effects of the electromagnetic field athigh frequencies on a human brain, on theother hand, have been reported in someresearches.
The possible effects of themagnetic field of a cellular phone werediscussed in the previous studies [4-6]. In thepresent study, the effect of the magnetic fieldat high frequencies on cells was investigated invitro.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. METHODSThe effects of a magnetic field on a living body
have been discussed in many reports. Someepidemiological investigations show possible
effects of the magnetic field on human health.
Some animal tests were also performed in theprevious studies. Some studies evaluated theSequence control
An experimental apparatus was manufactured
to expose cells to the magnetic field at highfrequencies with a cellular phone during cellculture (Fig. 1). A state of generating signals
at the mobile phone was kept with sequencecontroltechnique.
Torepeatthesignal-generating state of three minutes, thestart and the redial switches were turned onalternatively with a sequence controller (Fig.
2).

CO2 gasElectromagnetic shield

CO2 incubator

Gas Mixer
Temperature Controller

Sequencer
Cellular phone

Fig. 1: Experimental system.

FP Ⅰ

field at 800 MHz. The dish was enclosed in aplastic chamber of incubation (Fig. 3). Thechamber was connected to the gas-control line
to keep the concentration of carbon dioxide atfive percent in the vapor around the dish. The
heater was equipped around the chamber tomaintain temperature at thirty-seven degrees
centigrade around the dish. The experimental
system was enclosed with a flexible sheet ofmetal to shield the experimental space fromthe surrounding magnetic field [2].
Cell culture
The types of cells used in the experiment wererat's fibroblasts L929. The cells were seededin two dishes and cultured simultaneously inthe medium (Eagle’s MEM) including ten
percent of fetus bovine serum for five days.
One dish is exposed to the electromagnetic fieldin electric-power density of 10 watt per square
meter with the cellular phone, and the other isenclosed in the sheet of metal for shielding ascontrol.

Relay

1

21aFP programmer Ⅱ

Cellular phone

Fig. 2: Sequence controller.

2b4

c3

34

Fig. 4: Plate to trace the same position
for observation in the dish.

Evaluation
The results were evaluated with a proliferation
rate of cells, destruction of cells, arrangementof cells, and synthesis of protein in cells.

Fig. 3: Chamber of incubation (left),
Electromagnetic shield (right).
Incubation
A dish with radius of 35 mm was placed near acellular phone, which generates the magnetic

After the seeded cells become implanted on thebottom of the dish in 12 hours, the populationof cells in the fixed area was counted every 24
hours with a phase contrast microscope. To
trace the same area, the plate, which has
twenty-one holes of 0.7 mm diameter, wasattached on the bottom of the dish as a marker(Fig. 4). The population of cells increases
exponentially with time.
The rate ofmultiplication was calculated from the slope.LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) is released froma destroyed cell. Concentration of LDH wasmeasured with P-L method (Wroblewskimethod) in the culture medium collected every
twenty-four hours from each dish during thetest.
The medium was refreshed every
twenty-four hours.
The angle between the longitudinal axis of thecell and the cellular phone was measured withthe microscope (Fig. 5). The direction of thedish was fixed according to the direction of theantenna.
Aftertwenty-fourhoursofexposure,distribution of protein was observed byimmunofluorescence technique with a co-focus
scanning laser microscope (BX50, Olympus).

L-929cell

3. RESULTS
The state of generating signals at the cellular
phone was successfully kept with intervals offew seconds (Fig. 6).
The slopes of eight lines are similar (Fig. 7),
which shows the similar proliferation rate in
two kinds of magnetic conditions.
Meanvalues are 0.034 per hour for exposure to themagnetic field and 0.036 per hour for shielding
from the magnetic field.
Concentration of LDH was low, and does not
significantly vary with two magnetic conditions(Fig. 8).
Figure 9 shows distribution of angles of 500
cells classified into every fifteen degrees after
72 hours cultivation. The results show thatthe cells tend to tilt to the direction of theantenna (75-90 degrees in Fig.9) under
exposure of the electromagnetic field.

Angle

Direction of the cellular phone

Number of cells

Exposed 1
Exposed 3
10000
1000
100
101Fig. 5: Angle between cellular phoneand cell.

0123660

84

15Shielded 1
Shielded 31050060120 180 240 300 360 420
Time, sFig. 6: Electromagnetic power from
cellular phone kept by sequencecontroller.

108120Time, hours

Number of cells

Power density, W/m2Exposed 2
Exposed 4

Shielded 2
Shielded 4

10000
1000
100
1010

1236

60

Time, hours

Fig. 7: Proliferation rate.

84108

120

Figures 10-12 exemplify the microscopic viewin which the color shows distribution of theinmunologically stained protein. The coloredlines in cells indicate that many actin
filaments might be synthesized in the cells
exposed to the electromagnetic field (Fig. 11).
The intensity of surrounding magnetic fields
sufficiently decreased with the flexible sheet ofmetal.
Temperature was maintainedthirty-seven degrees centigrade in the medium
during the test.

Exposed0.02 mｍ

Shielded

LDH, IU/L

2520150.02 mｍ

105012366084Time, h108120Fig. 10: Distribution of Vinculin after
24 hours of cultivation: exposed(upper) and shielded (bottom)

Fig. 8: Concentration of LDH.

Ratio of the cells, percent

ExposedShielded

252015100.02 mm

501̀53̀04̀56̀07̀59̀0Angle, degree

Fig. 9: Distribution of angles of the cells.

0.02 mmFig. 11: Distribution of F-actin after 24hours of cultivation: exposed (upper)and shielded (bottom).

0.02 mm0.02 mm0.02 mm0.02 mm

Distribution of alignment of cells in control
group might show the effect of anothermagnetic fields from cellular phone, e.g. thegeomagnetic field, which is parallel to thedirection of antenna in the present study(Fig.9).
Thermal effects of the electromagnetic field athigh frequencies on human body were reported
in many researches. The temperature was notelevated with exposure to electromagnetic
fields during the present experiment in vitro.
Thermal effect might be small in the presentexperimental system.
5. CONCLUSION

Fig. 12: HSP27 and F-actin after 24hours of cultivation: exposed (upper)and shielded (bottom).

The present experiments show only minor
effects of the electromagnetic field of 10 W/m2
at 800 MHz on proliferation of cells. The
results also indicate possible effects ofelectromagnetic field on arrangement of cells
and on synthesis of protein in cells.
5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The effects of electromagnetic fields were
under discussion. The relation of cause andeffect is not clear in epidemiological andanimal experiments.
The present study
evaluates the effect of electromagnetic field oncells. The intensity of electromagnetic fields
in the present study is not so high as
accelerated experiments in the previousstudies [1]. The present experimental results,
however, indicate a possible effect on protein
sysnthesis in cells.
The lactate dehydrogenase is released from
cells during their destruction process, and used
as an index for destruction of cells. The
concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase in themedium replaced every 24 hours were in thesame low level in the present experiments.
The results show constant little destruction ofcells regardless of the magnetic field
conditions.

This work was supported in part by aGrant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from theJapanese Ministry of Education, Culture,Sports, Science and Technology.
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