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Cellular Effects

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields and the promotion of H2O2-induced cell death in HL-60 cells.

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Ding GR, Nakahara T, Hirose H, Koyama S, Takashima Y, Miyakoshi J. · 2004

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An extremely low frequency magnetic field promoted hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in human leukaemia HL-60 cells, though the field alone did not induce apoptosis or necrosis.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tested whether exposure to an extremely low frequency magnetic field affects hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in human leukaemia HL-60 cells. Simultaneous treatment with the magnetic field and hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours significantly increased the number of apoptotic and necrotic cells compared with cells treated with hydrogen peroxide alone. The researchers found that active caspase-7 protein levels were higher in cells exposed to both the magnetic field and hydrogen peroxide than in those treated with hydrogen peroxide alone, and that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage occurred earlier under combined exposure.

Why This Matters

Viable, apoptotic, and necrotic cells were measured using an annexin V flow cytometry assay, and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blotting. Bax and Bcl-2 protein levels showed no differences between cells treated with hydrogen peroxide alone and those treated with both hydrogen peroxide and the magnetic field. Exposure to the magnetic field also had no effect on hydrogen peroxide-induced caspase-3 activation. The authors suggest that caspase-7 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase might be involved in the promoting effect of the magnetic field on cell death.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field
5 mT
Source/Device
60 Hz
Exposure Duration
24h

Exposure Context

This study used 5 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: 5 mTExtreme Concern - 5 mGFCC Limit - 2,000 mGEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 25 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 60 Hz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

To test whether exposure to an extremely low frequency magnetic field (60 Hz, 5 mT) affects hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)‐induced cell death in human leukaemia HL‐60 cells.

Cells were treated with H2O2 with or without exposure to an extremely low frequency magnetic fields....

Simultaneous treatment with exposure to the magnetic field and H2O2 (85 or 100 µM) for 24 h increase...

The data suggest that although the magnetic field itself cannot induce apoptosis and necrosis, it exerts a promoting effect on H2O2‐induced cell death, and it demonstrates that caspase‐7 as well as poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase might be involved in this process.

Cite This Study
Ding GR, Nakahara T, Hirose H, Koyama S, Takashima Y, Miyakoshi J. (2004). Extremely low frequency magnetic fields and the promotion of H2O2-induced cell death in HL-60 cells. Int J Radiat Biol. 80(4):317-324, 2004.
Show BibTeX
@article{gr_2004_extremely_low_frequency_magnetic_347,
  author = {Ding GR and Nakahara T and Hirose H and Koyama S and Takashima Y and Miyakoshi J.},
  title = {Extremely low frequency magnetic fields and the promotion of H2O2-induced cell death in HL-60 cells.},
  year = {2004},
  doi = {10.1080/09553000410001679802},
  url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09553000410001679802},
}
DOI: 10.1080/09553000410001679802

Cited By (23 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used human leukaemia HL-60 cells.
The data suggest that the magnetic field itself cannot induce apoptosis and necrosis, but exerts a promoting effect on hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death.
Active caspase-7 levels were higher in cells exposed to both the magnetic field and hydrogen peroxide, while Bax and Bcl-2 showed no differences and caspase-3 was unaffected.
Viable, apoptotic, and necrotic cells were determined by an annexin V flow cytometry assay.
Simultaneous treatment with the magnetic field and hydrogen peroxide significantly decreased the number of viable cells compared with cells treated with hydrogen peroxide alone.