Electromagnetic fields (1.8 GHz) increase the permeability to sucrose of the blood-brain barrier in vitro.

We report an investigation on the influence of high frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the permeability of an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Our model was a co-culture consisting of rat astrocytes and porcine brain capillary endothelial cells (BCEC). Samples were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. The BBB phenotype of the BCEC was shown by the presence of zona occludens protein (ZO-1) as a marker for tight junctions and the close contact of the cells together with the absence of intercellular clefts. Permeability measurements using (14)C-sucrose indicated a physiological tightness which correlated with the morphological findings and verified the usefulness of our in vitro model. Samples were exposed to EMF conforming to the GSM1800-standard used in mobile telephones (1.8 GHz). The permeability of the samples was monitored over four days and compared with results of samples that were cultured identically but not exposed to EMF. Exposure to EMF increased permeability for (14)C-sucrose significantly compared to unexposed samples. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism remains to be investigated.

[1]  K. Yee.  Numerical solution of initial boundary value problems involving maxwell's equations in isotropic media , 1966 .

[2]  S. Michaelson,et al.  Effect of 2450 MHz microwave energy on the blood-brain barrier to hydrophilic molecules. B. Effect on the permeability to HRP , 1984, Brain Research Reviews.

[3]  K. Fritze,et al.  Effect of global system for mobile communication (GSM) microwave exposure on blood-brain barrier permeability in rat , 1997, Acta Neuropathologica.

[4]  N Kuster,et al.  Effect of global system for mobile communication microwave exposure on the genomic response of the rat brain , 1997, Neuroscience.

[5]  P. Couraud,et al.  F-Actin cytoskeleton and sucrose permeability of immortalised rat brain microvascular endothelial cell monolayers: effects of cyclic AMP and astrocytic factors , 1997, Brain Research.

[6]  W T Kaune,et al.  Residential exposure to magnetic fields and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children. , 1997, The New England journal of medicine.

[7]  Z. Nagy,et al.  Tight junctions of brain endothelium in vitro are enhanced by astroglia , 1987, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[8]  L. Salford,et al.  Permeability of the blood‐brain barrier induced by 915 MHz electromagnetic radiation, continuous wave and modulated at 8, 16, 50, and 200 Hz , 1994, Microscopy research and technique.

[9]  C. Blackman,et al.  Dose dependence of acetylcholinesterase activity in neuroblastoma cells exposed to modulated radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation. , 1992, Bioelectromagnetics.

[10]  L. Rubin,et al.  A cell culture model of the blood-brain barrier , 1991, The Journal of cell biology.

[11]  Joachim Wegener,et al.  Use of electrochemical impedance measurements to monitor β-adrenergic stimulation of bovine aortic endothelial cells , 1999, Pflügers Archiv.

[12]  Thomas J. Raub,et al.  Permeability of bovine brain microvessel endothelial cells in vitro: barrier tightening by a factor released from astroglioma cells. , 1992, Experimental cell research.

[13]  H. Galla,et al.  Impedance and shear wave resonance analysis of ligand-receptor interactions at functionalized surfaces and of cell monolayers. , 1997, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[14]  R. Reiter,et al.  Marked rapid alterations in nocturnal pineal serotonin metabolism in mice and rats exposed to weak intermittent magnetic fields. , 1990, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[15]  Hans-Joachim Galla,et al.  An improved low-permeability in vitro-model of the blood–brain barrier: transport studies on retinoids, sucrose, haloperidol, caffeine and mannitol , 1999, Brain Research.

[16]  Bertil R. R. Persson,et al.  Blood‐brain barrier permeability in rats exposed to electromagnetic fields used in wireless communication , 1997, Wirel. Networks.

[17]  K. McCarthy,et al.  Preparation of separate astroglial and oligodendroglial cell cultures from rat cerebral tissue , 1980, The Journal of cell biology.

[18]  H. Galla,et al.  Porcine choroid plexus cells in culture: expression of polarized phenotype, maintenance of barrier properties and apical secretion of CSF-components. , 1997, European journal of cell biology.

[19]  Philip L. Smith,et al.  In vitro models to predict blood-brain barrier permeability , 1997 .

[20]  W. Lehmacher,et al.  Tumor promotion in a breast cancer model by exposure to a weak alternating magnetic field. , 1993, Cancer letters.

[21]  P Delorme,et al.  An Easier, Reproducible, and Mass‐Production Method to Study the Blood–Brain Barrier In Vitro , 1990, Journal of neurochemistry.

[22]  L. Fenart,et al.  In vitro model for evaluating drug transport across the blood-brain barrier. , 1999, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[23]  K. J. Oscar,et al.  Microwave alteration of the blood-brain barrier system of rats , 1977, Brain Research.

[24]  K. Hossmann,et al.  Neurological effects of microwave exposure related to mobile communication , 1997, Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

[25]  H. Galla,et al.  Hydrocortisone reinforces the blood-brain barrier properties in a serum free cell culture system. , 1998, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[26]  T Gailus,et al.  Resting blood pressure increase during exposure to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field , 1998, The Lancet.

[27]  J. Kaiser.  Panel Finds EMFs Pose No Threat , 1996, Science.

[28]  A. Saija,et al.  Aging and sex influence the permeability of the blood-brain barrier in the rat. , 1990, Life sciences.

[29]  A Basten,et al.  Lymphomas in E mu-Pim1 transgenic mice exposed to pulsed 900 MHZ electromagnetic fields. , 1997, Radiation research.