Extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields enhance chemically induced formation of apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP)sites in A172 cells.
Koyama S, Sakurai T, Nakahara T, Miyakoshi J · 2008
View Original AbstractPower-frequency magnetic fields amplified DNA damage from toxic chemicals by enhancing cellular radical activity in brain cancer cells.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human brain cancer cells to 60 Hz magnetic fields (the same frequency as household electricity) to see if it would increase DNA damage. They found that while the magnetic fields alone didn't damage DNA, they significantly amplified the DNA damage caused by toxic chemicals. This suggests that common power-frequency magnetic fields may make cells more vulnerable to other sources of genetic damage.
Why This Matters
This study reveals a concerning amplification effect that challenges the common assumption that EMF exposures below thermal levels are harmless. The 5 millitesla magnetic field used here is roughly 100 times stronger than typical household exposures, but the mechanism identified - enhanced radical pair activity - could theoretically operate at lower levels too. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates how EMF exposure might not directly cause DNA damage, but rather make our cells more susceptible to damage from other environmental toxins we encounter daily. This co-exposure effect represents a gap in current safety standards, which typically evaluate EMF in isolation rather than considering how it might interact with other health stressors in our modern environment.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 5 mG
- Source/Device
- 60 Hz
- Exposure Duration
- 2, 4, 8, 16 or 24 h
Exposure Context
This study used 5 mG 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
To detect the effects of extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields, the number of apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in human glioma A172 cells was measured following exposure to ELF magnetic fields.
The cells were exposed to an ELF magnetic field alone, to genotoxic agents (methyl methane sulfonate...
There was no difference in the number of AP sites between cells exposed to an ELF magnetic field and...
Our results suggest that the number of AP sites induced by MMS or H2O2 is enhanced by exposure to ELF magnetic fields at 5 millitesla (mT). This may occur because such exposure can enhance the activity or lengthen the lifetime of radical pairs.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2008_extremely_low_frequency_elf_401,
author = {Koyama S and Sakurai T and Nakahara T and Miyakoshi J},
title = {Extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields enhance chemically induced formation of apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP)sites in A172 cells.},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1080/09553000701616064},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09553000701616064},
}