Information fields of written texts protect cells from oxidative damage and accelerate repair.

OBJECTIVE

Written words demonstrated specific effects on biochemical measures and cell growth in cultured mammalian cells in previous study. We examined the protection and reparative effects of Chinese texts with positive meaning and the word "Buddha" on oxidative-damaged cells, with the goal of exploring the therapeutic effect of such characters.

METHODS

The human embryonic kidney cell line HEK293T was utilized, with the oxidative- damaged cell model produced by hydrogen peroxide (HO). Double-blind experiments were set up to ensure all operators involved in the experiments did not know the contents of the texts in envelopes. Petri-dishes (9 plates) containing oxidative-damaged cells were selected randomly for three controls, three treatments by texts with positive meaning, and another three treatment by the word "Buddha". Cells were sub-sampled at 3 h and 24 h to examine growth and mitochondrial functions. All data are expressed relative to the controls.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, mitochondrial functions were enhanced as evidenced by increased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, accompanied by the significant improvement in cell growth rate for the groups treated by positive texts and the word "Buddha". Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were decreased significantly in positive texts treatment, which suggested that the antioxidant capacity of cells was also improved.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that certain texts can potentially offer protection and accelerate the cellular repair for oxidative-damaged cells.