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Fifty Hertz electromagnetic field exposure stimulates secretion of beta-amyloid peptide in cultured human neuroglioma.

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Del Giudice E, Facchinetti F, Nofrate V, Boccaccio P, Minelli T, Dam M, Leon A, Moschini G. · 2007

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Overnight exposure to a low-frequency electromagnetic field induced a significant increase in amyloid-beta peptide secretion in cultured neuroglioma cells.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tested whether low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure could affect amyloid-related processes in cultured cells. The study exposed H4 neuroglioma cells, which overexpress human mutant amyloid precursor protein, to a 3.1 mT 50 Hz electromagnetic field. Overnight exposure led to a significant increase in amyloid-beta peptide secretion, including the isoform Abeta 1-42, without affecting cell survival.

Why This Matters

The researchers described their result as showing for the first time that exposure to a low-frequency electromagnetic field stimulates amyloid-beta secretion in vitro. They described the finding as alluding to a potential link between low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and amyloid precursor protein processing in the brain.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
3.1 mT
Source/Device
50 Hz

Exposure Context

This study used 3.1 mT for magnetic fields:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 3.1 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 16 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 50 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 50 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

We here tested the hypothesis that the exposure to LF-EMF may affect amyloidogenic processes.

We examined the effect of exposure to 3.1 mT 50 Hz LF-EMF on Abeta secretion in H4 neuroglioma cells...

We found that overnight exposure to LF-EMF induces a significant increase of amyloid-beta peptide (A...

These findings show for the first time that exposure to LF-EMF stimulates Abeta secretion in vitro, thus alluding to a potential link between LF-EMF exposure and APP processing in the brain.

Cite This Study
Del Giudice E, Facchinetti F, Nofrate V, Boccaccio P, Minelli T, Dam M, Leon A, Moschini G. (2007). Fifty Hertz electromagnetic field exposure stimulates secretion of beta-amyloid peptide in cultured human neuroglioma. Neurosci Lett. 418(1):9-12, 2007.
Show BibTeX
@article{e_2007_fifty_hertz_electromagnetic_field_629,
  author = {Del Giudice E and Facchinetti F and Nofrate V and Boccaccio P and Minelli T and Dam M and Leon A and Moschini G.},
  title = {Fifty Hertz electromagnetic field exposure stimulates secretion of beta-amyloid peptide in cultured human neuroglioma.},
  year = {2007},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17382472/},
}
PubMed: 17382472

Cited By (32 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used H4 neuroglioma cells that stably overexpress human mutant amyloid precursor protein.
Cells were exposed to a 3.1 mT 50 Hz low-frequency electromagnetic field.
Cell survival was not affected by the overnight exposure.
The increase included amyloid-beta peptide overall and specifically the isoform Abeta 1-42.
They said the findings allude to a potential link between low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure and amyloid precursor protein processing in the brain.