Extremely low frequency magnetic fields regulate differentiation of regulatory T cells: Potential role for ROS-mediated inhibition on AKT
Tang R, Xu Y, Ma F, Ren J, Shen S, Du Y, Hou Y, Wang T · 2016
View Original AbstractExtremely strong magnetic fields reduced cancer spread in mice by reprogramming immune cells, suggesting therapeutic potential at exposures far above everyday levels.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mice with lung cancer to extremely low frequency magnetic fields (7.5 Hz, 0.4 Tesla) for 2 hours daily over 27 days and found the treatment significantly reduced tumor spread in the lungs. The magnetic fields worked by altering immune cell behavior - specifically reducing regulatory T cells (immune cells that normally suppress anti-tumor responses) and increasing cellular stress molecules called reactive oxygen species. This suggests that certain magnetic field exposures might enhance the body's natural ability to fight cancer by modifying immune system function.
Why This Matters
This study represents a fascinating twist in EMF research - showing potential therapeutic benefits rather than harm from magnetic field exposure. The 0.4 Tesla field strength used here is extraordinarily high, roughly 8,000 times stronger than typical household magnetic field exposures and comparable to medical MRI machines. What makes this research particularly intriguing is the mechanism: the magnetic fields appear to reprogram immune cells to be more aggressive against tumors by disrupting regulatory T cells that normally put the brakes on immune responses. While these findings are preliminary and limited to mouse models, they highlight how little we understand about the full spectrum of biological effects from electromagnetic fields. The reality is that EMF interactions with living systems are far more complex than simple 'harmful' or 'harmless' categories suggest.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 400 mG
- Source/Device
- 7.5 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 2 h/day for 27 days
Exposure Context
This study used 400 mG for magnetic fields:
- 20Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 4Mx 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 focus on the effect of ELF-MFs on lung metastatic melanoma mouse model and the regulatory mechanism of ELF-MFs on the differentiation of Treg cells.
Tumor-bearing mice were exposed to sham ELF-MFs and ELF-MFs (0.4 T, 7.5 Hz) 2 h/day for 27 days.
Metastatic tumor burden of lung was significantly decreased after ELF-MF treatment. Compared to the ...
Taken together, our data show that ELF-MF exposure promoted the inhibitory effect of ROS on AKT pathway and decreased Foxp3 expression, which provides an explanation for why ELF-MF exposure can inhibit differentiation of Treg cells and enhance antitumor effect in metastatic melanoma mouse model.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2016_extremely_low_frequency_magnetic_470,
author = {Tang R and Xu Y and Ma F and Ren J and Shen S and Du Y and Hou Y and Wang T},
title = {Extremely low frequency magnetic fields regulate differentiation of regulatory T cells: Potential role for ROS-mediated inhibition on AKT},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1002/bem.21954},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bem.21954},
}