Shinichi Moriwaki

Background When the skin is damaged and its barrier function is disrupted, the proliferation and migration of epidermal keratinocytes are vital for repairing the damaged area. The Schumann resonance at 7.8 Hz has been reported to protect rat cardiomyocytes against oxidative stress and inhibit the proliferation of B16 mouse melanoma cells. However, its effect on the skin is unknown. Aims In this study, we applied 7.8‐Hz electromagnetic waves to normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) and investigated its effects on cell proliferation and migration, β‐defensin ( DEFB1 ) and sirtuin 1 ( SIRT1 ) expression. Methods We performed cell proliferation assay, cell migrationassay and gene expression analysis of DEFB1 and SIRT1 . Results We found that the application of 7.8‐Hz electromagnetic waves caused a 2.8‐fold increase in NHEK proliferation, enhanced cell migration, and increased the expression of DEFB1 and SIRT1 by 2.4‐fold and 4.9‐fold, respectively. Conclusions These results suggest that the application of 7.8‐Hz electromagnetic waves may contribute to improving the skin barrier function and skin ulcer.