Effect of electromagnetic field exposure on chemically induced differentiation of friend erythroleukemia cells.

Abstract

Whether exposure of humans to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) can cause cancer is controversial and therefore needs further research. We used a Friend erythroleukemia cell line that can be chemically induced to differentiate to determine whether ELF-EMF could alter proliferation and differentiation in these cells in a manner similar to that of a chemical tumor promoter. Exposure of this cell line to 60 Hz ELF-EMF resulted in a dose dependent inhibition of differentiation, with maximal inhibition peaking at 40% and 40 mG (4 microT). ELF-EMF at 10 mG (1.0 microT) and 25 mG (2.5 microT) inhibited differentiation at 0 and 20%, respectively. ELF-EMF at 1.0 (100) and 10.0 G (1,000 microT) stimulated cell proliferation 50% above the sham-treated cells. The activity of telomerase, a marker of undifferentiated cells, decreased 100[times] when the cells were induced to differentiate under sham conditions, but when the cells were exposed to 0.5 G (50 microT) there was only a 10[times] decrease. In summary, ELF-EMF can partially block the differentiation of Friend erythroleukemia cells, and this results in a larger population of cells remaining in the undifferentiated, proliferative state, which is similar to the published results of Friend erythroleukemia cells treated with chemical-tumor promoters.

Effects of Sinusoidal Electromagnetic Field on Structure and Function of Different Kinds of Cell Lines

“…Numerous reports point out the effects of ELF EMF on the cell cycle, yet under some conditions a positive effect and under other conditions a negative effect on proliferation was observed 14,30-32. In this study, there was no clear interrelation between EMF-induced cell proliferation and cell cycle distribution.…”

The Anti-Tumor Effect of A3 Adenosine Receptors Is Potentiated by Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields in Cultured Neural Cancer Cells

“…In addition, preclinical and Phase I studies showed that A 3 AR agonists are safe and well tolerated in humans and thus may be considered possible therapeutic agents for certain cancer diseases [5]. As reported in different works some researchers associate EMF exposure with carcinogenesis [30], [31], while other studies have shown that EMF do not increase the risk of several cancer types, and that the treatment with specific frequencies is well tolerated and may have biological efficacy in patients with advanced tumors [32]–[34]. At present, no data are reported in literature on the effect of ARs and PEMF exposure in in vitro or in vivo models of cancer, even if some results have demonstrated the potentiation of the anti-inflammatory effects of ARs by the presence of PEMFs [22]–[25].…”

Extra-low-frequency magnetic fields alter cancer cells through metabolic restriction

“…Many have also reported a diversity of effects above 2.5 mT, higher than common environmental exposures. These include lengthened mitotic cycle and depressed respiration (Goodman et al, 1979), increased soft agar colony formation (Phillips et al, 1986), inhibition of differentiation with increased cell proliferation (Chen et al, 2000) as well as DNA breaks with apoptosis and necrosis (Lai and Singh, 2004).…”