Effects of 50-Hz magnetic field exposure on superoxide radical anion formation and HSP70 induction in human K562 cells.
Mannerling AC, Simkó M, Mild KH, Mattsson MO · 2010
View Original Abstract50-Hz magnetic fields triggered cellular stress responses at levels as low as 0.025 mT, comparable to everyday household exposures.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human blood cells to 50-Hz magnetic fields at household appliance levels for one hour. The exposure doubled stress protein production and increased harmful oxygen radicals by 30-40%, indicating cellular damage at magnetic field strengths commonly found near home electronics.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that extremely low frequency magnetic fields can trigger cellular stress responses at remarkably low exposure levels. The 0.025 mT threshold identified here is particularly significant because it falls within the range of everyday exposures from electrical wiring, appliances, and power lines. What makes this research especially noteworthy is the clear biological mechanism demonstrated: magnetic fields increase harmful oxygen radicals, which then trigger the cell's emergency stress response system. The fact that antioxidants could block this effect confirms that oxidative stress is the pathway through which these fields affect cells. This adds to the growing body of evidence that our current safety standards, which only consider heating effects, may be inadequate to protect against the biological effects occurring at much lower exposure levels.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 0.025–0.10 mG
- Source/Device
- 50-Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 1 h
Exposure Context
This study used 0.025–0.10 mG for magnetic fields:
- 1.3Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 250x above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 1 mG
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
Here, we report on the influence of MF exposure (50-Hz sine wave; 1 h; 0.025–0.10 mT; vertical or horizontal MF exposure direction) on different cellular parameters (proliferation, cell cycle distribution, superoxide radical anion, and HSP70 protein levels) in the human leukaemia cell line K562.
The positive control heat treatment (42°C, 1 h) did not affect either cell proliferation or superoxi...
In conclusion, an early response to ELF MF in K562 cells seems to be an increased amount of oxygen radicals, leading to HSP70 induction. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is a flux density threshold where 50-Hz MF exerts its effects on K562 cells, at or below 0.025 mT, and also that it is the MF, and not the induced electric field, which is the active parameter.
Show BibTeX
@article{ac_2010_effects_of_50hz_magnetic_419,
author = {Mannerling AC and Simkó M and Mild KH and Mattsson MO},
title = {Effects of 50-Hz magnetic field exposure on superoxide radical anion formation and HSP70 induction in human K562 cells.},
year = {2010},
url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00411-010-0306-0},
}