Effects of 60 Hz electromagnetic field exposure on APP695 transcription levels in differentiating human neuroblastoma cells

• Published in: Bioelectrochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2002-07, Vol.57 (1), p.9-15
• Main Authors: Rao, Raj R., Halper, Jaroslava, Kisaalita, William S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer Disease - etiology; Alzheimer Disease - genetics; Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor - biosynthesis; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor - genetics; Blotting, Northern; Cell Differentiation - genetics; Cell Differentiation - radiation effects; Electromagnetic Fields - adverse effects; ELF-EMF; Helmholtz coil; Humans; IMR-32; Neuroblastoma; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Time Factors; Transcription, Genetic - radiation effects; Tumor Cells, Cultured
• ISSN: 1567-5394
• DOI: 10.1016/S1567-5394(02)00004-X

Epidemiological studies have suggested that workers with primary occupation that are likely to have resulted in the medium-to-high extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. As a first step in investigating the possibility of an association between the ELF-EMF exposure and AD at the cellular level, we have used the differentiating IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells. In double-blind experiments, IMR-32 cells were exposed to the magnetic field intensities of 50, 100, and 200 μT at a frequency of 60 Hz for a period of 4 h at the three ages of differentiation (2, 10, and 16 days after incubation in differentiation medium). We used a custom-made Helmholtz coil setup driven by a 60-Hz sinusoidal signal from a function generator and an in-house built power amplifier. Total RNA extracted from the exposed cells was separated by the agarose gel electrophoresis and transferred to a nylon membrane for the northern hybridization. Digoxygenin-labeled APP695 RNA probes were used to detect changes in the APP695 mRNA levels in response to the ELF-EMF exposure. The results reported herein provided no support for any relationship between the APP695 gene transcription and IMR-32 differentiation age, as well as the magnetic field exposure. This study constitutes the first step towards investigating the possibility of an association between the ELF-EMF exposure and AD manifestations at the cellular level.