BACKGROUND: Hypomagnetic fields can disrupts the normal functioning of living organisms by a mechanism thought to involve oxidative stress. In erythrocytes, oxidative stress can inter alia lead to changes to hemoglobin content and to hemolysis. OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of hypomagnetism on the state of rat erythrocytes in vitro. METHODS: Rat erythrocytes were exposed to an attenuated magnetic field (AMF) or Earth's magnetic field (EMF), in the presence of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as inducer of oxidative stress. Determinations: total hemoglobin (and its three forms-oxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, and hemichrome) released from erythrocytes, spectral data (500-700nm); oxygen radical concentrations, electron paramagnetic resonance. RESULTS: AMF and EMF exposed erythrocytes were compared. After 4h incubation at high TBHP concentrations (>700 µM), AMF exposed erythrocytes released significantly more (p<0.05) hemoglobin (Hb), mostly as methemoglobin (metHb). Conversely, after 24 h incubation at low TBHP concentrations (≤ 350 µM), EMF exposed erythrocytes released significantly more (p<0.001) hemoglobin, with metHb as a significant proportion of the total Hb. Erythrocytes exposed to AMF generated more radicals than those exposed to the EMF. CONCLUSION: Under particular conditions of oxidative stress, hypomagnetic fields can disrupt the functional state of erythrocytes and promote cell death; an additive effect is implicated.
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