Exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields and proliferation of human astrocytoma cells in vitro
Authors not listed · 2000
Sixty-Hertz magnetic fields caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in proliferation of human astrocytoma cells and strongly potentiated the effects of two agonists.
Plain English Summary
Researchers investigated whether exposure to 60-Hz sinusoidal magnetic fields (0.3-1.2 G for 3-72 h) would cause proliferation of human astrocytoma cells. Sixty-Hertz magnetic fields caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in proliferation of astrocytoma cells, measured by (3)H-thymidine incorporation and by flow cytometry, and strongly potentiated the effect of two agonists. However, magnetic fields had no effect on DNA synthesis of rat cortical astrocytes, which are similar nontransformed cells. A protein kinase C inhibitor and down-regulation of protein kinase C inhibited the effect of magnetic fields on basal and agonist-stimulated thymidine incorporation.
Why This Matters
Epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to electric and magnetic fields may be associated with an increased incidence of brain tumors, most notably astrocytomas. Both 1.2 G magnetic fields and sham exposure caused a 0.7 degrees C temperature increase in the medium, but thymidine incorporation from sham exposure was significantly less than from magnetic fields. The findings may provide a biological basis for the observed epidemiological associations between magnetic field exposure and brain tumors.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Show BibTeX
@article{exposure_to_60_hz_magnetic_fields_and_proliferation_of_human_astrocytoma_cells_in_vitro_ce1550,
author = {Unknown},
title = {Exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields and proliferation of human astrocytoma cells in vitro},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1006/TAAP.1999.8825},
}