Effect of Electric Field on Myocytes in Vitro

An effect of an electric field on proliferation of cultured muscle cells has been studied in vitro. Two kinds of myocytes were exposed to electric stimulation: C2C12 (Mouse myoblast cell line originated with cross-striated muscle of C3H mouse) and L6 (rat skeletal muscle cell). The cells were suspended in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium. The suspension was exposed to the electric field between two electrodes made of platinum wire of 0.2 mm diameter at 25 degrees Celsius for five minutes a day. The electric pulses at a period of one second with a pulse width of one millisecond were generated with a function generator. Variation was made on amplitude of pulse between 10 mV and 100 mV. After electric stimulation for five minutes, cells were cultivated for one day in an incubator. For comparative study, a part of the suspension was poured into the same kind of dish without exposure to the electric field, and incubated. After incubation, the cells were observed with an inverted phase-contrast microscope, and the number of cells was counted. The experimental results show that proliferation decelerates with the amplitude of electric pulses lower than 0.