Preliminary Study of Pulsed-Electromagnetic Fields Effects on Endothelial Cells Line Secretions: Evidence of a Potential Increased Thrombotic Risk

We investigated the role of a 1 Hz low-strength magnetic pulse superimposed on the environmental electromagnetic field (emf) on the secretion of anti-aggregant (prostacyclin or PGI₂) and pro-aggregant (thromboxane A₂ or TXA₂) agents in the EaHy-926 endothelial cell line. We established that magnetic pulse exposure has opposite effects on the two secretions: PGI₂ is decreased, whereas TXA₂ is increased, with a PGI₂/TXA₂ ratio shifted toward thrombosis. We also show that the effect of the magnetic field depends on its orientation, normal or parallel, to the cell monolayer. Finally, we show that the amplitude of the effect does not increase with the magnitude of the magnetic pulse, particularly with PGI₂ secretion, which is increased as the field magnitude is decreased, suggesting a new concept for defining a threshold for health hazards.