The action of pulsed magnetic fields on cyclic AMP levels in cultured fibroblasts.

Pulsed magnetic fields, similar to those used clinically to promote bone repair, have been applied to cultured fibroblasts obtained from chick embryo tendons and rabbit bone marrow. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels were found to be lower in field-treated cultures in response to hormones such as prostaglandin E2 and isoproterenol, and the fibroblasts appear less sensitive to environmental perturbation prior to hormone incubation. We propose that the adenylate cyclase complex is temporarily inactivated by prolonged exposure to pulsed magnetic fields, and that this effect might be analogous to desensitisation phenomena.