In vitro effect of exposing low-frequency electric fields on the proliferative capacity and morphological features of olfactory ensheathing cells

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) transplanted into the damaged spinal cord may be considered as a valuable remedy explorations for spinal cord repair. The proliferation of transplanted olfactory ensheathing cells depend on various environmental factors and effective cues, which may include electrical fields (EFs). In this study, we investigate the proliferative capacity, morphologic alterations of olfactory ensheathing cells derived from neonate rat that occur when exposed to two EFs of 20 Hz, 50 mV and 20 Hz, 100 mV for 6 hours. For both EF treatments, the MTT results revealed that the cellular proliferation of exposed group during the last 6 h of the experiment were statistically higher than control. Then, we investigated morphological structure changes in the cells stained by Coomassie brilliant blue. Compare with control group, most of cells were present at intensively proliferating appearance included the microfilaments were long and thick and the accumulated appearance of cells. It is conceivable that electrical fields as a new approach may promote the growth and proliferation of OECs and may be engineered to control the survival of transplanted OECs in injured spinal cord. Although our results have been suggesting that EFs may be non-chemical strategies for cell proliferation, the fundamental mechanisms remained to be elucidated.