ELF electromagnetic fields increase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced mutations in pTN89 plasmids.

Bioeffects Seen

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

Combining a 60 Hz, 5 mT magnetic field with hydrogen peroxide increased the mutation frequency in plasmids compared with hydrogen peroxide alone.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers tested whether an extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELFMF) could affect mutations caused by hydrogen peroxide in pTN89 plasmids. Mutations were detected in the supF gene carried by the plasmids in Escherichia coli. The mutation frequency was 2.28×10−4 for hydrogen peroxide treatment alone, and 5.81×10−4 when the ELFMF was applied at the same time. No mutations were observed with ELFMF exposure alone, and the researchers indicated that the ELFMF may potentiate hydrogen peroxide-induced mutation.

Why This Matters

The plasmids were treated with 1 μM hydrogen peroxide at 37 °C for 4 h, either alone or simultaneously with a 60 Hz, 5 mT magnetic field. Sequence analysis showed that base substitutions, G:C→A:T transitions and G:C→T:A transversions were dominant in both treatment groups. There was no difference in the mutation spectrum or the hotspots between the groups. The researchers suggested that ELFMFs may interact with and potentiate the damage induced by hydrogen peroxide, resulting in an increase in the number of mutations.

Exposure Details

Magnetic Field: 5 mT
Source/Device: 60 Hz
Exposure Duration: 4 h

Exposure Context

This study used 5 mT for magnetic fields:

250Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
50Kx 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

We have examined the mutational effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence and absence of an extremely low-frequency magnetic field (ELFMF), using pTN89 plasmids.

Mutations were detected in the supF gene carried by these plasmids in Escherichia coli. The plasmids...

We did not observe any mutations using treatment with ELFMF exposure alone. This indicates that the ...

Cite This Study

Koyama S, Nakahara T, Hirose H, Ding GR, Takashima Y, Isozumi Y, Miyakoshi J. (2004). ELF electromagnetic fields increase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced mutations in pTN89 plasmids. Mutat Res. 560(1):27-32, 2004.

Show BibTeX

@article{s_2004_elf_electromagnetic_fields_increase_400,
  author = {Koyama S and Nakahara T and Hirose H and Ding GR and Takashima Y and Isozumi Y and Miyakoshi J.},
  title = {ELF electromagnetic fields increase hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced mutations in pTN89 plasmids.},
  year = {2004},
  
  url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1383571804000440},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

No mutations were observed with ELFMF exposure alone, indicating the field did not by itself cause mutations.

Plasmids were exposed to a 60 Hz, 5 mT magnetic field simultaneously with 1 μM hydrogen peroxide treatment at 37 °C for 4 h.

Base substitutions, G:C→A:T transitions and G:C→T:A transversions were dominant in both treatment groups, with no difference in mutation spectrum or hotspots between groups.

The mutation frequency was 2.28×10−4 for hydrogen peroxide treatment alone and 5.81×10−4 when the magnetic field was applied at the same time.

The researchers suggested that ELFMFs may interact with and potentiate the damage induced by hydrogen peroxide, resulting in an increase in the number of mutations.