Effect of magnetic resonance imaging on human respiratory burst of neutrophils

It is known that low intensity magnetic fields increase superoxide anion pr oduction during the respiratory burst of rat peritoneal neutrophils in vitr o. We investigated whether the high intensity magnetic fields (1.5 T) durin g magnetic resonance imaging can influence the human neutrophil function un der in vivo conditions. Blood samples were obtained from 12 patients immedi ately before and after magnetic resonance imaging (mean time 27.6(+/- 11.4 min)). The induced respiratory burst was investigated by the intracellular oxidative transformation of dihydrorhodamine 123 to the fluorescent dye rho damine 123 via flow cytometry, The respiratory burst was induced either wit h phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, Escherichia coli, N-formylmethionyl-leuc ylphenylalanine or priming with tumor necrosis factor followed by FMLP stim ulation. There was no significant difference between the respiratory burst before and after magnetic resonance imaging, irrespective of the stimulatin g agent. Short time exposure to a high intensity magnetic field during magn etic resonance imaging seems not to influence the production of radical spe cies in living neutrophils, (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Soc ieties.