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Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and cisplatin on mRNA levels of some DNA repair genes

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Sanie-Jahromi F, Saadat I, Saadat M · 2016

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Combined EMF and cisplatin treatment enhanced down-regulation of specific DNA repair genes involved in double-strand break repair, suggesting potential therapeutic application in sensitizing cancer cells to chemotherapy.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

This study examined how 50-Hz extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure, alone and combined with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, affects mRNA expression of seven DNA repair genes in two cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and SH-SY5Y). The researchers found that EMF exposure generally down-regulated these DNA repair genes in MCF-7 cells, and when combined with cisplatin, EMF co-treatment increased drug resistance (IC50) while selectively down-regulating genes involved in the non-homologous end-joining DNA repair pathway.

Why This Matters

The study evaluated gene expression changes at the mRNA level using quantitative PCR across different EMF intensities and exposure patterns. The proposed mechanism involves interference with non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), a major DNA repair pathway, which could theoretically impair cancer cell survival when combined with genotoxic chemotherapy.

Cite This Study
Sanie-Jahromi F, Saadat I, Saadat M (2016). Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and cisplatin on mRNA levels of some DNA repair genes.
Show BibTeX
@article{sanie_jahromi_f_saadat_i_saadat_m_ce4200,
  author = {Sanie-Jahromi F and Saadat I and Saadat M},
  title = {Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and cisplatin on mRNA levels of some DNA repair genes},
  year = {2016},
  
  
}
PubMed: 27721000

Quick Questions About This Study

The study measured mRNA levels of seven DNA repair genes (GADD45A, XRCC1, XRCC4, Ku70, Ku80, DNA-PKcs and LIG4) in MCF-7 and SH-SY5Y cells exposed to 50-Hz EMF, alone and together with cisplatin (CDDP).
Two 50-Hz EMF intensities (0.25 and 0.50mT) were used in three exposure patterns: 5min field-on/5min field-off, 15min field-on/15min field-off, and 30min field-on continuously.
The examined genes tended to be down-regulated in MCF-7 cells treated with EMF. In the 15min field-on/15min field-off pattern at 0.50mT, no mRNA increase was observed, and GADD45A, XRCC1, XRCC4, Ku80, Ku70 and LIG4 were down-regulated.
Co-treatment with CDDP+EMF significantly raised the IC50 of CDDP in MCF-7 and SH-SY5Y cells compared with CDDP alone. GADD45A mRNA increased while XRCC4, Ku80, Ku70 and DNA-PKcs mRNA were down-regulated.
The authors report that CDDP+EMF co-treatment can enhance down-regulation of genes in the non-homologous end-joining pathway, and suggest it could be more promising for sensitizing cancer cells to DNA double strand breaks.