Effects of zero magnetic field on the conformation of chromatin in human cells

The effects of zero magnetic field on human VH-10 fibroblasts and lymphocytes were studied by the method of anomalous viscosity time dependencies (AVTD). A decrease of about 20% in the AVTD peaks was observed within 40 to 80 min of exposure of fibroblasts. This decrease was transient and disappeared 120 min after beginning of exposure. Similar kinetics for the effect of zero field was observed when cells were exposed 20 min and then kept at an ambient field. A 20% decrease of the AVTD peaks (p < 0.005 to 0.05) 40 to 70 min after 20 min exposure to zero field was reproduced in four independent experiments (out of four) with human lymphocytes from the same healthy donor. Contrary to the effects ofzero field, irradiation of lymphocytes or fibroblasts with gamma-rays resulted in significant increase of the AVTD peaks immediately after irradiation. We concluded that zero field and gamma-rays caused hypercondensation and decondensation of chromatin, correspondingly. The effect of ethidium bromide served as a positive control and supported this conclusion. The effects of zero field on human lymphocytes were more significant in the beginning of G1-phase than in GO-phase. Thus, human fibroblasts and lymphocytes were shown to respond to zero magnetic field. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.