An-Najah Staff

This study deals with the morphofunctional influence of 72 h exposure to a 6 mT static magnetic field (SMF) during differentiation induced by 50 ng/ml 12-O-tetradecanoyl-13-phorbol acetate (TPA) in human leukaemia U937 cells. The cell morphology of U937 cells was investigated by optic and electron microscopy. Specific antibodies and/or molecules were used to label CD11c, CD14, phosphatidylserine, F-actin and to investigate the distribution and activity of lysosomes, mitochondria and SER. [Ca2+]i was evaluated with a spectrophotometer. The degree of differentiation in SMF-exposed cells was lower than that of non-exposed cells, the difference being exposure time-dependent. SMF-exposed cells showed cell shape and F-actin modification, inhibition of cell attachment, appearance of membrane roughness and large blebs and impaired expression of specific macrophagic markers on the cell surface. The intracellular localization of SER and lysosomes was only partially affected by exposure. A significant localization of mitochondria with an intact membrane potential at the cell periphery in non-exposed, TPA-stimulated cells was observed; conversely, in the presence of SMF, mitochondria were mainly localised near the nucleus. In no case did SMF exposure affect cell viability. The sharp intracellular increase of [Ca2+]i could be one of the causes of the above-described changes. Bioelectromagnetics 30:352–364, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Reduced glutamine (GLN) concentration in the culture medium of a U937 cell line caused them to be differentiated along the monocytic pathway; cells attached to the matrix and to each other by extending pseudopodia and acquired specific functional characteristics, such as the expression of α-naphthyl-acetate esterase and the capacity to reduce nitroblue tetrazolium, as well as becoming active phagocytes. When U937 cells were differentiated under continuous exposure to a 6 mT static magnetic field (MF) the overall differentiation process was perturbed. Surprisingly, after 5 days’ exposure to the static MF, higher cell viability and differentiation were observed in cells cultured in a GLN-deprived medium than in cells grown in the same medium but in the absence of a static MF. The latter cells, particularly those that were still floating in the medium, were stimulated with TPA for a further 3 days. These cells differentiated and attached to the substrate. Conversely, the same treatment applied to cells cultured in GLN-deprived medium in the presence of the static MF resulted in resistance to TPA-induced differentiation. Indeed, these cells exhibited a round shape and in-suspension growth.