2009 Volume 18 Issue 3 Pages 61-67
In this study, the effect of exposure to an electric field on activation of lymphocytes in the peripheral blood in FIV positive or negative cats was investigated, using an electrical stimulating device which is used for 'electrostatic potential therapy'. In human cases and in a few species of animals, exposure to an electric field generated by an alternating current has been found to improve the physiological conditions. In our experiments, we used 8 cats infected by feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and 5 cats without FIV, each of which was exposed to an electric field for 30 minutes per day for 2 weeks, and we measured the activation of lymphocytes after adding Concanavalin A, a stimulator of T cells. In the FIV positive cats, electric field exposure significantly activated blastogenesis of lymphocytes. Induction of lymphocyte blastogenesis in the FIV positive cats required a longer exposure than in the FIV negative cats. In addition, lymphocytes in the peripheral blood increased in some of the FIV positive cats. These results suggest that electeic field exposure is effective in stimulating immunological responses in FIV cats.
