ELF-MF exposure affects the robustness of epigenetic programming during granulopoiesis

2017 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1319

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2017

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

ELF-MF exposure affects the robustness of epigenetic programming during granulopoiesis Manser M, Sater MR, Schmid CD, Noreen F, Murbach M, Kuster N, Schuermann D, Schär P. ELF-MF exposure affects the robustness of epigenetic programming during granulopoiesis. Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 7;7:43345. doi: 10.1038/srep43345. Abstract Extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) have been classified as "possibly carcinogenic" to humans on the grounds of an epidemiological association of ELF-MF exposure with an increased risk of childhood leukaemia. Yet, underlying mechanisms have remained obscure. Genome instability seems an unlikely reason as the energy transmitted by ELF-MF is too low to damage DNA and induce cancer-promoting mutations. ELF-MF, however, may perturb the epigenetic code of genomes, which is well-known to be sensitive to environmental conditions and generally deranged in cancers, including leukaemia. We examined the potential of ELF-MF to influence key epigenetic modifications in leukaemic Jurkat cells and in human CD34+ haematopoietic stem cells undergoing in vitro differentiation into the neutrophilic lineage. During granulopoiesis, sensitive genome-wide profiling of multiple replicate experiments did not reveal any statistically significant, ELF-MF-dependent alterations in the patterns of active (H3K4me2) and repressive (H3K27me3) histone marks nor in DNA methylation. However, ELF-MF exposure showed consistent effects on the reproducibility of these histone and DNA modification profiles (replicate variability), which appear to be of a stochastic nature but show preferences for the genomic context. The data indicate that ELF-MF exposure stabilizes active chromatin, particularly during the transition from a repressive to an active state during cell differentiation. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov In conclusion, we report that ELF-MF exposure has no significant effect in a deterministic manner on the epigenetic landscapes of leukaemic and differentiating haematopoietic cells. However, our data indicate that ELF-MF exposure may influence the robustness of histone modification and DNA methylation patterning in the course of the global chromatin reorganization associated with neutrophilic differentiation. This, however, did not affect notably the overall dynamics and efficiency of granulopoiesis.

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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 typein_vitro

Effect directionmixed

PopulationLeukaemic Jurkat cells and human CD34+ haematopoietic stem cells undergoing in vitro differentiation into the neutrophilic lineage (granulopoiesis)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureELF

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Across multiple replicate experiments during granulopoiesis, no statistically significant ELF-MF-dependent alterations were detected in genome-wide patterns of H3K4me2, H3K27me3, or DNA methylation. ELF-MF exposure was associated with consistent effects on the reproducibility (replicate variability) of these profiles, described as stochastic with genomic-context preferences, and the data indicate stabilization of active chromatin during transition from repressive to active states; granulopoiesis dynamics/efficiency were not notably affected.

Outcomes measured

Genome-wide patterns of histone marks H3K4me2 (active) and H3K27me3 (repressive)
DNA methylation profiles
Reproducibility/replicate variability (robustness) of histone and DNA modification profiles
Overall dynamics and efficiency of granulopoiesis

Limitations

Exposure parameters (e.g., field strength, frequency, duration) not provided in the abstract
In vitro cell models; findings may not generalize to in vivo human health outcomes
Sample size and number of replicates not stated

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Leukaemic Jurkat cells and human CD34+ haematopoietic stem cells undergoing in vitro differentiation into the neutrophilic lineage (granulopoiesis)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Genome-wide patterns of histone marks H3K4me2 (active) and H3K27me3 (repressive)",
    "DNA methylation profiles",
    "Reproducibility/replicate variability (robustness) of histone and DNA modification profiles",
    "Overall dynamics and efficiency of granulopoiesis"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Across multiple replicate experiments during granulopoiesis, no statistically significant ELF-MF-dependent alterations were detected in genome-wide patterns of H3K4me2, H3K27me3, or DNA methylation. ELF-MF exposure was associated with consistent effects on the reproducibility (replicate variability) of these profiles, described as stochastic with genomic-context preferences, and the data indicate stabilization of active chromatin during transition from repressive to active states; granulopoiesis dynamics/efficiency were not notably affected.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure parameters (e.g., field strength, frequency, duration) not provided in the abstract",
    "In vitro cell models; findings may not generalize to in vivo human health outcomes",
    "Sample size and number of replicates not stated"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "ELF-MF",
    "extremely-low-frequency magnetic fields",
    "epigenetics",
    "DNA methylation",
    "H3K4me2",
    "H3K27me3",
    "chromatin",
    "granulopoiesis",
    "CD34+",
    "Jurkat cells",
    "leukaemia"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mechanisms-epigenetics",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Assesses ELF-MF effects on histone marks and DNA methylation during differentiation."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1038/srep43345
PubMed: Not supplied

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