The clinical use of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) in osteoarticular pathology is widely extended, although the mechanisms involved are unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the action of a new protocol of treatment with PEMF on liquid medium cultures of fibroblast-like cells derivates of mononuclear peripheral blood cells. Fibroblast-like cells growth was obtained in liquid medium culture from mononuclear cells (MNC) of human peripheral blood. The PEMF irradiation protocol included an intensity of 2.25 mT, a frequency of 50 Hz and an application time of 15 min on days 7, 8 and 9 of cell culture. Immunophenotype was performed with specific heterologous monoclonal antibodies for each cell receptor (Vimentin, Cytokeratin, CD34, CD41, CD61 and CD68). The cytokines' production was determined in the supernatant of the culture medium by means of the Luminex technology. The immunophenotype did not show any statistical difference on comparing treated against non-treated cell cultures on any of the days. In the treatment cell population, the proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and TNF-α showed a significant decrease on days 14 and 21 of the culture, whilst IL-10 increased significantly on day 21. It is concluded that PEMF irradiation does not alter the cell immunophenotype of the fibroblast-like cell population, but does provoke a decrease in the production of inflammatory-type cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α) and an increase in cytokines of lymphocytic origin (IL-10). These facts coincide with the chronology of the clinical effect undergone by patients with osteoarticular pathology after PEMF irradiation.

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Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), already described in human beings, are fibroblast-like cells that exhibit a CD34 marker specific for haematopoietic stem cells. In this work we have demonstrated the presence of PSCs in the peripheral blood of pigs, a species frequently used in transplantation studies as an animal model for human diseases. Differentiation into haematopoietic colonies (granulomacrophagic colonies, erythroid colonies and mixed colonies) has been carried out with the peripheral blood of adult and newborn pigs, using solely human commercial media. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) were cultured in semisolid methylcellulose based media enriched with recombinant human cytokines, achieving granulomacrophagic-colony forming unit (GM-CFU) and mixed-colony forming unit (Mix-CFU) growth with erythroblastic lineage proliferation in the presence of erythropoietin (Epo). In all the samples CFU growth was associated with the presence of recombinant human cytokine. No evidence of proliferation in control plates without cytokines was found. From liquid medium culture, a population of macrophages and CD34+ fibroblast like cells were retrieved 21 days after sowing. These findings allow us to think about the direct application of this simple and standardised method in several work fields such as the study of pharmacological effects of many drugs over the haematopoietic line and in the study of new strategies in cellular therapy for some human diseases.