Inhibition of leukemia cell growth under magnetic fields of up to 8 T

In the present study, we investigated whether strong magnetic fields affect the growth of leukemia cells. We used a horizontal type of superconducting magnet, which produced magnetic fields of up to 8 T at its center. Leukemia cells (TCC-S) were seeded in 40 ml flasks and incubated with and without magnetic field exposure for 5 days. TCC-S growth with magnetic field exposure was inhibited by 60~80% compared with TCC-S growth without magnetic field exposure, only with an initial cell density of 2×10⁴ cells/ml. To investigate the effect of air volume on leukemia cell growth, the volume of the medium was decreased. When the medium was exposed to a greater volume of air, an enhanced inhibition of leukemia cell growth was observed. The possible mechanism of the observed effects was a concentration change of dissolved oxygen in the cell medium. Redistribution of dissolved oxygen molecules might result in the lack of an essential amount of oxygen necessary for leukemia cell growth