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SMF exposure can promote insulin secretion in rat INS-1 cells by activating the transcription of the insulin gene and up-regulating the expression of vesicle-secreted proteins.

The exposure to static magnetic fields (SMFs) has rapidly increased and is recently accompanied with the wide use of more and more electrical appliances. Although few researches have been reported on other types of magnetic fields that may have the effects on clinical therapy of diseases, it is rarely seen reports on the effects of moderate static magnetic fields on human health. In this study, in order to evaluate the influence of exposure to moderate static magnetic fields on biological systems, we cultured the INS-1 under exposure to moderate intensity of 400 mT and sham conditions for different times from 6 to 18 h, insulin secretion to medium and mRNA expression will be tested after exposure. Insulin secretion has significantly increased after exposed to SMFs with moderate intensity of 400 mT for 18 h compared with the sham condition. Furthermore, similar to the insulin secretion, insulin 1 and insulin 2 mRNA expression also increased after exposure. These results suggest that exposure to SMFs at 400 mT position for specific times might have positive stimulation in both insulin secretion and insulin mRNA expression, and these will be used hopefully in further investigations in vitro, even in the therapy clinically.

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of Traditional Chinese medicine Shuangwu Zhentong Capsule (SZC) on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and the possible mechanisms. Sixty rats were randomly divided into control and model: low-, medium-, and high-dose SZC and prednisone acetate (PA) groups, with 10 rats in each group. The CIA model was established in later 5 groups. The rats in low-, medium-, and high-dose SZC groups were intragastricallly administered with SZC, with dose of 0.5, 1, and 2 g/kg, respectively. The PA group was intragastricallly administered with 5 mg/kg PA. The treatment was performed for 3 weeks. Before treatment and after treatment, the paw swelling degree and polyarthritis index score of rats were measured. At the end of experiment, the serum tumor necrosis factorα (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and nitric oxide (NO) levels were determined. The expressions of Ras and Raf-1 protein in synovial tissue were detected. Results showed that, after treatment, compared with model group, in high-dose SZC and PA groups, the paw swelling degree, polyarthritis index score, serum TNF-α, IL-1β and NO levels, and synovial tissue Ras and Raf-1 protein levels were significantly decreased, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, SZC has obvious protective effects on CIA in rats. The mechanisms may be related to its resistance of inflammatory reaction and downregulation of Ras and Raf-l protein expressions in synovial tissue.