Protective effect of procyanidins extracted from the lotus seedpod on immune function injury induced by extremely low frequency electromagnetic field

This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of Lotus seedpod procyanidins (LSPCs) from extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure (50 Hz, 8 mT, 28 days) and their protective mechanism against radiation damage. The results showed that LSPCs increased the organ index of mice and made the damaged blood-producing function and cytokine(INF-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 in spleen) levels by ELF-EMF-irradiation recovered to normal appearance. And experimental results proved that dosing LSPCs inhibit more stagnation of splenocytes in G0/G1 phase caused by ELF-EMF, thus the spleen cells from G0/G1 phase to S phase shift, restore normal cell metabolism, promote the splenocytes proliferation, reduced the apoptosis of spleen cells, effective protect the damage induced by the ELF-EMF radiation. In addition, LSPCs prevented the decline of DNA content caused by ELF-EMF. Western blot determinated the levels of apoptosis genes including Bcl-2, Bax, Bcl-cl, Caspase-3 and Caspase-9. The results revealed that a significant suppression in Bcl-2 expression and increase in Bax, Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 expression in splenic cells in ELF-EMF group. However, LSPCs restored these changes. Taking these results together, it may be summarized that LSPCs could protect hematopoietic tissues and the immune system from ELF-EMF. And it may be hypothesized that ELF-EMF-induced apoptosis in splenocytes might occur via triggers the trans-activation of Bax and activates caspases-3 and −9, which then cleaves the death substrates, leading to apoptosis in splenocytes of mice treated with ELF-EMF.