Mechanical and electromagnetic induction of protection against oxidative stress

Cells and tissues can be protected against a potentially lethal stress by first exposing them to a brief dose of the same or different stress. This “pre-conditioning” phenomenon has been documented in many models of protection against oxidative stress, including ischemia/reperfusion and ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. Stimuli which induce this protective response include heat, chemicals, brief ischemia, and electromagnetic (EM) field exposures. We report here that constant mechanical vibration pre-conditions chick embryos, protecting them during subsequent stress from hypoxia or UV light exposure. Continuously mechanically vibrated embryos (60 Hz, 1 g (32 ft/s 2), 20 min) exhibited nearly double the survival (67.5%, P