ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Studies on basic research of magnetic treatment of limb ischemic disease are not much, because poor compliance of animals and the stability of the magnetic field strength are difficult to control, resulting in big experimental error and decreased credibility of the results. For this kind of problem, experimental study on low-frequency electromagnetic magnetic cages for treatment of ischemic limbs was conducted, thus overcoming the two major issues of poor compliance of animals and difficult control of the stability of magnetic field strength. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of self-made low-frequency magnetic fields of rabbit cages on neovascular growth-promoting factor of rabbits with limb ischemia. METHODS:A total of 96 rabbit models of atherosclerosis were constructed, numbered and randomly divided into ischemia group and non-ischemia group (12 treatment combination in each group). Experiments in each group were performed four times according to the requirement of factorial design. Electromagnetic field intensity factor A (0, 3, 6, 12 mT) and the time factor B (3, 5, 7 days) were set. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Low-frequency magnetic field could apparently promote hypoxia inducible factor-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor and CD34 expression in ischemic limb of rabbits. Electromagnetic field intensity factor A was a key factor for contributing to the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor and CD34, and the time factor B was secondary factor. Low-frequency magnetic field also promoted hypoxia inducible factor-1αexpression in non-ischemia limb, but did not promote vascular endothelial growth factor and CD34 expression. Thus, the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and CD34 was regulated by hypoxia inducible factor-1α, as wel as other factors, in the ischemic state.