Abstract
To evaluate the effects of extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELFMF) on β‐cell survival and function, we cultured a hamster‐derived insulin‐secreting cell line (HIT‐T15), which exhibits responsiveness to glucose in a semi‐physiological range, under exposure to sham and ELFMF conditions, and assessed cell survival and function. We used our previously developed ELFMF exposure unit (a sinusoidal magnetic field at a frequency of 60 Hz, 5 mT) to culture cells under exposure to ELFMF conditions. We found that exposure to ELFMF for 5 days in the absence of glucose increased cell number, exposure for 2 days in the absence of glucose and for 5 days with 100 mg/dl glucose increased the insulin secretion to the culture medium, and exposure for 2 and 5 days with 40 and 100 mg/dl glucose increased intracellular insulin concentration in HIT‐T15 cells. The increase in cell number under apoptotic culture conditions by exposure to ELFMF could lead to new therapeutic concepts in the treatment of diabetes. The ELFMF‐induced increase in intracellular insulin concentration could be utilized to develop culture conditions to enhance intracellular insulin concentration in insulin‐secreting cells that would be useful for cell transplantation to cure diabetes mellitus. Bioelectromagnetics 29:118–124, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.