The micro-current stimulation system for cellular inflammatory modulation study

Electric stimulation (ES) is known to affect cell migration, proliferation, inflammation regulation, and physiological activities. However, there exist strong attenuation of electric field (EF) when conventional ES pass through tissue, and need of direct contact of target tissue and electrode has been magnified. In order to overcome these limitations, we have designed and fabricated precise ES device (MCS system), which can support with precise current density and adjustable frequency. Then we applied to degenerative disc disease (DDD) model in vitro. We showed that inflamed annulus fibrosus (AF) cells, which mimicked DDD model, express inflamatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, and –8 as contrasted with normal AF cells. But inflamed AF cells stimulated with ES and showed decrease in inflammatory cytokines. These results suggests that ES can be a therapeutic tool for inflammatory modulation and MCS is expected to be applied in many cell types and foster diverse applications of ES study fields.