Effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and cisplatin on mRNA levels of some DNA repair genes
Sanie-Jahromi F, Saadat I, Saadat M · 2016
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
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.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
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},
doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.06.002},
}