Effect of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field on MMP-9 and TIMP-1 Levels in Chondrosarcoma Cells Stimulated with IL-1β

Chondrosarcoma, the second most common type of bone malignancy, is characterized by distant metastasisand local invasion. Previous studies have shown that treatment by pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) hasbeneficial effects on various cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of PEMF applied for 3 and 7days on the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) levels in chondrosarcoma SW1353 cells stimulated with two differentdoses of IL-1β. SW1353 cells were treated with (0.5 and 5 ng/ml) IL-1β and PEMF exposure was applied either3 or 7 days. MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels were measured in conditioned media by enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay. The results were relative to protein levels. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way analysis ofvariance (ANOVA). P<0.05 was considered significant. PEMF treatment significantly decreased MMP-9 proteinlevels in human chondrosarcoma cells stimulated with 0.5 ng/ml IL-1β at day 7, whereas it did not show anyeffect on cells stimulated with 5 ng/ml IL-1β. There was no significant change in TIMP-1 protein levels eitherby IL-1β stimulation or by PEMF treatment. The results of this study showed that PEMF treatment suppressedIL-1β-mediated upregulation of MMP-9 protein levels in a dual effect manner. This finding may offer newperspectives in the therapy of bone cancer.