Effect of 50-Hz magnetic fields on the expression of activation-induced deaminase, B-cell lymphoma 6 and serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-21

International journal of radiation biology · 2023 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 572

In rats exposed to 50-Hz magnetic fields (1, 100, 500, or 2000 µT; 2 h/day for 60 days), AID expression in spleen significantly declined at 1 µT, while Bcl-6 expression showed no change. Serum IL-6 increased only in the 500 µT group at the post-immunization p…

Study snapshot

PublicationInternational journal of radiation biology · 2023

Study typeanimal

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effect of 50-Hz magnetic fields on the expression of activation-induced deaminase, B-cell lymphoma 6 and serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-21 Gholamian-Hamadan M, Behzad M, Molaei S, Zaerieghane Z, Talebi-Ghane E, Zamani A. Effect of 50-Hz magnetic fields on the expression of activation-induced deaminase, B-cell lymphoma 6 and serum levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-21. Int J Radiat Biol. 2023 Feb 6:1-18. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2177767. Abstract Background: Investigations showed different effects of magnetic fields (MFs) on the immune system. During humoral immune responses, genes of activation-induced deaminase (AID) and B-cell lymphoma-6 (Bcl-6) are expressed and interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-21 are produced. These factors play significant roles in class switching, affinity maturation of antibodies and activations of B cells germinal centers (GCs). Therefore, this study investigated the effect of 50-Hz MFs exposure with different densities on these factors. Materials and Methods: Eighty rats were divided into four exposures and a control groups. The treatment groups were exposed to magnetic flux densities of 1, 100, 500, and 2000 µT (50 Hz, 2h/day for 60 days). To activation of the immune system, all the animals were immunized with human serum albumin on days 31, 44, and 58 of exposure. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to assay the expression levels of AID and Bcl-6 genes in the spleen. The serum levels of IL-6 and IL-21 were also detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at the pre- and post-immunization phases. Results: AID expression was significantly declined at 1µT magnetic flux density, while no change was observed in the expression of Bcl-6. Serum IL-6 was increased only in 500 µT group at the post-immunization phase. Conclusion: It seems exposure to 50-Hz MFs at 1µT density, suppresses AID and may cause decline in class switching and affinity maturation of Abs. On the other hand, exposure to 500µT, may activate them. These findings demonstrate the various potential effects of MFs on the humoral immune system. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Conclusion It appears two months exposure to 50-Hz MFs causes to change some aspect of humoral immunity, both in low and high flux densities. Reduction in AID expression at lower density may hypothesize a suppression role in humoral immunity, especially class switching and affinity maturation of Abs. In contrast, higher density could increase serum IL-6 and activate the differentiation of B cells to plasma cells and may enhances humoral responses. This finding indicated the complexities of these reactions which highlight the need for further studies.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionmixed

PopulationRats

Sample size80

ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 2 h/day for 60 days

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Spleen gene expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID)
Spleen gene expression of B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6)
Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (pre- and post-immunization)
Serum interleukin-21 (IL-21) levels (pre- and post-immunization)

Limitations

Study conducted in rats; human relevance not established in abstract
Only selected immune markers were assessed (AID, Bcl-6, IL-6, IL-21)
Details of IL-21 results are not reported in the abstract
Exposure source/setup and blinding/randomization details not described in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "2 h/day for 60 days"
  },
  "population": "Rats",
  "sample_size": 80,
  "outcomes": [
    "Spleen gene expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID)",
    "Spleen gene expression of B-cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6)",
    "Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels (pre- and post-immunization)",
    "Serum interleukin-21 (IL-21) levels (pre- and post-immunization)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In rats exposed to 50-Hz magnetic fields (1, 100, 500, or 2000 µT; 2 h/day for 60 days), AID expression in spleen significantly declined at 1 µT, while Bcl-6 expression showed no change. Serum IL-6 increased only in the 500 µT group at the post-immunization phase.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Study conducted in rats; human relevance not established in abstract",
    "Only selected immune markers were assessed (AID, Bcl-6, IL-6, IL-21)",
    "Details of IL-21 results are not reported in the abstract",
    "Exposure source/setup and blinding/randomization details not described in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "50-Hz",
    "extremely low frequency",
    "magnetic fields",
    "magnetic flux density",
    "rats",
    "humoral immunity",
    "activation-induced deaminase",
    "AID",
    "Bcl-6",
    "interleukin-6",
    "IL-6",
    "interleukin-21",
    "IL-21",
    "immunization",
    "spleen",
    "RT-qPCR",
    "ELISA"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "occupational-exposure",
      "weight": 0.25,
      "reason": "ELF 50-Hz magnetic-field exposure at specified flux densities is relevant to occupational/power-frequency exposure contexts, though no workplace setting is specified."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2023.2177767
PubMed: 36745859

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