Effect of pulsed magnetic fields on healthy mice, a study through cellular electrophoresis of thymic cells.

Abstract

An exposure of adult mice to a pulsed magnetic field (PMF) increases thymus weight. In this work, thymic lymphocytes were studied by cellular electrophoresis because the proliferation and maturation of these cells is linked to an increase in their electrophoretic mobility (EM). Fifteen-week-old female Swiss mice were exposed for 30 min to a 6 mT PMF, 12 or 460 Hz in frequency, according to different modalities. The EM of the thymic cells, suspended in saline were measured from 0 to 96 h after the end of the exposure. For some of the mice the whole body, for others the head only or the body without the head was exposed; the animals were awaken or narcotized, prepared or not with 6-hydroxydopamine. The modifications of the EM are in favour of an action of the PMF on the thymus through the central nervous system.