Improved Mitochondrial and Methylglyoxal-Related Metabolisms Support Hyperproliferation Induced by 50 Hz Magnetic Field in Neuroblastoma Cells.
Falone S, Santini S Jr, Di Loreto S, Cordone V, Grannonico M, Cesare P, Cacchio M, Amicarelli F. · 2016
View Original Abstract50 Hz magnetic fields at 1 milliTesla accelerated brain cancer cell growth by triggering protective mechanisms that helped tumors survive and multiply.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human neuroblastoma cells (a type of brain cancer cell) to 50 Hz magnetic fields at 1 milliTesla and found the fields made the cancer cells grow faster and become more aggressive. The magnetic field exposure triggered protective mechanisms in the cancer cells that helped them survive and multiply more effectively. This suggests that power frequency magnetic fields might promote the growth of existing brain tumors.
Why This Matters
This research reveals a deeply troubling finding: 50 Hz magnetic fields at 1 milliTesla can accelerate the growth of brain cancer cells and make them more aggressive. What makes this particularly concerning is that 1 mT represents exposure levels you might encounter very close to high-current electrical equipment, though it's higher than typical household exposures. The study demonstrates that these fields don't just passively affect cells - they actively trigger protective mechanisms that help cancer cells thrive and multiply faster. The researchers found that magnetic field exposure initially disrupted normal cellular function, but then the cancer cells adapted by becoming more metabolically efficient and better at defending against natural cancer-fighting compounds. This adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that EMF exposure may not cause cancer directly, but could accelerate the progression of existing tumors - a mechanism that's particularly difficult to detect in population studies but could have significant public health implications.
Exposure Details
- Magnetic Field
- 1 mG
- Source/Device
- 50 Hz
Exposure Context
This study used 1 mG for magnetic fields:
- 50Kx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.2 mG
- 10Kx 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
The aim of this study is to observe Improved Mitochondrial and Methylglyoxal-Related Metabolisms Support Hyperproliferation Induced by 50 Hz Magnetic Field in Neuroblastoma Cells.
Our study investigated whether the hyperproliferation that is induced in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma...
Our findings show that not only the ELF magnetic field interfered with the biology of neuron-derived...
The biochemical pathways and molecular targets revealed in this research could be exploited for future approaches aimed at limiting or suppressing the deleterious effects of ELF magnetic fields.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2016_improved_mitochondrial_and_methylglyoxalrelated_643,
author = {Falone S and Santini S Jr and Di Loreto S and Cordone V and Grannonico M and Cesare P and Cacchio M and Amicarelli F.},
title = {Improved Mitochondrial and Methylglyoxal-Related Metabolisms Support Hyperproliferation Induced by 50 Hz Magnetic Field in Neuroblastoma Cells.},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1002/jcp.25310},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcp.25310},
}