Jahns M E, Lou E, Durdle N G, Bagnall K, Raso V J, Cinats D, Barley R D C, Cinats J, Jomha N M
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Med Biol Eng Comput. 2007 Oct;45(10):917-25. doi: 10.1007/s11517-007-0216-8. Epub 2007 Aug 14.
Osteoarthritis is a debilitating joint disease where the articular cartilage surface degrades and is unable to repair itself through natural processes. Chondrocytes reside within the cartilage matrix and maintain its structure. We conducted in vitro experiments to investigate the morphological response of cultured human chondrocytes under different pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) conditions. In the control experiments, cultured chondrocytes attached to the bottom of a culture dish typically displayed either a stellate or spindle morphology with extended processes. Experimental chondrocyte cultures were placed in a Helmholtz coil to which a ramp waveform was applied. Exposure to PEMFs caused the chondrocytes to retract their processes, becoming spherical in shape. This change in morphology followed a progression from stellate to spindle to spherical. These morphological changes were reflected in an average reduction of 30% in the surface contact area of the chondrocytes to the culture dish. Understanding the mechanisms by which PEMFs affect the morphology of chondrocytes will help lead to new treatments for osteoarthritis.
骨关节炎是一种使人衰弱的关节疾病，其中关节软骨表面会退化，并且无法通过自然过程自行修复。软骨细胞存在于软骨基质中并维持其结构。我们进行了体外实验，以研究培养的人类软骨细胞在不同脉冲电磁场（PEMF）条件下的形态学反应。在对照实验中，附着在培养皿底部的培养软骨细胞通常呈现出星状或纺锤状形态，且有延伸的突起。实验性软骨细胞培养物被放置在一个施加了斜坡波形的亥姆霍兹线圈中。暴露于脉冲电磁场会导致软骨细胞缩回其突起，变成球形。这种形态变化遵循从星状到纺锤状再到球形的过程。这些形态变化反映在软骨细胞与培养皿表面接触面积平均减少30%。了解脉冲电磁场影响软骨细胞形态的机制将有助于开发治疗骨关节炎的新方法。
