Effects of microwaves on the colony-forming capacity of haemopoietic stem cells in mice.

A suspension of bone marrow cells from femurs of female (CBA X C57Bl)F1 mice was exposed to 2450 MHz CW microwaves in a specially designed waveguide exposure system. The temperature of the suspension rose, during exposure to microwaves, from 20 degrees C to 45 degrees C, and at an interval within 20 degrees C to 45 degrees C the number of haemopoietic stem cells (CFUs) was determined by the spleen exocolony method. The time of exposure of bone marrow cells to each temperature studied was 20 s. Control suspensions of bone marrow cells were exposed to a water bath temperature. There were no significant effects of the CFUs with the water bath temperature, while after exposure to microwaves the number of spleen colonies was elevated with a nadir at the temperature of 37 degrees C. With a microwave-induced increase of the temperature above 41 degrees C the number of CFUs in the bone marrow suspension decreased. The increase in the number of colonies was related to the rise in the seeding rate of the CFUs as well as to a rise in their proliferative activity, while the drop in the number of colonies was influenced also by heat-killing of the CFUs by microwave exposure.