Conformational changes of β-thalassemia major hemoglobin and oxidative status of plasma after in vitro exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields: An artificial neural network analysis.

Electromagnetic biology and medicine · 2021 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 5621

Study snapshot

PublicationElectromagnetic biology and medicine · 2021

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) can generate reactive oxygen species and induce oxidative modifications. We investigated the effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) on oxidative status of plasma and erythrocytes in β-thalassemia major patients and design artificial neural networks (ANN) for evaluating the oxyHb concentration. Blood samples were obtained from age and sex-matched healthy donors (n = 12) and major β-thalassemia patients (n = 12) and subjected to 0.5 and 1 mT and 50 Hz of EMF. Plasma oxidative status was estimated after 1 and 2 h exposure to ELE-EMF. Structural changes of plasma proteins were investigated by Native PAGE and SDS-PAGE. Moreover; multilayer perceptron (MLP) method was applied for designing a feed forward ANN model to predict the impact of these oxidative and antioxidative parameters on oxyHb concentration. Two hour exposure to ELF-EMF induced significant oxidative changes on major β-thalassemia samplesElectrophoretic profiles showed two high molecular weight (HMW) protein aggregates in plasma samples from healthy donors and major β-thalassemia patients. According to our ANN design, the main predictors of oxyHb concentration were optical density of Hb at 542, 340, 569, 630, 577, and 420 nm and metHb and hemichrome (HC) concentration. Accuracy of the proposed ANN model was shown by predicted by observed chart (y = 1.3 + 0.96x, R = 0.942), sum of squares errors (SSR), and relative errors (RE). Our results showed the detailed effects of ELF-EMF on Hb structure and oxidative balance of plasma in major β-thalassemia patients and significance of ANN analysis during normal and pathologic conditions.

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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 directionharm

PopulationBlood samples from age- and sex-matched healthy donors and β-thalassemia major patients

Sample size24

ExposureELF · 0.05 MHz · 1 and 2 h

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Blood samples from healthy donors (n=12) and β-thalassemia major patients (n=12) were exposed in vitro to 50 Hz ELF-EMF at 0.5 and 1 mT for 1 or 2 hours. Two-hour exposure induced significant oxidative changes in β-thalassemia major samples, and electrophoresis showed two high molecular weight protein aggregates in plasma samples from both groups. An ANN model identified optical density at several Hb wavelengths and metHb/hemichrome concentrations as main predictors of oxyHb concentration, with reported fit (y = 1.3 + 0.96x, R = 0.942).

Outcomes measured

Plasma oxidative status (oxidative/antioxidative parameters)
Oxidative status of erythrocytes
Hemoglobin (Hb) structural/conformational changes
Plasma protein structural changes (Native PAGE, SDS-PAGE)
Oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) concentration prediction via artificial neural network
Methemoglobin (metHb) concentration
Hemichrome (HC) concentration

Limitations

In vitro study using blood samples; may not generalize to in vivo exposure
Small sample size (n=12 per group)
Exposure source/setup details not described in the abstract
Results for 0.5 vs 1 mT and 1 h vs 2 h are not fully detailed in the abstract
Oxidative status metrics are not specified in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.05,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1 and 2 h"
  },
  "population": "Blood samples from age- and sex-matched healthy donors and β-thalassemia major patients",
  "sample_size": 24,
  "outcomes": [
    "Plasma oxidative status (oxidative/antioxidative parameters)",
    "Oxidative status of erythrocytes",
    "Hemoglobin (Hb) structural/conformational changes",
    "Plasma protein structural changes (Native PAGE, SDS-PAGE)",
    "Oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb) concentration prediction via artificial neural network",
    "Methemoglobin (metHb) concentration",
    "Hemichrome (HC) concentration"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Blood samples from healthy donors (n=12) and β-thalassemia major patients (n=12) were exposed in vitro to 50 Hz ELF-EMF at 0.5 and 1 mT for 1 or 2 hours. Two-hour exposure induced significant oxidative changes in β-thalassemia major samples, and electrophoresis showed two high molecular weight protein aggregates in plasma samples from both groups. An ANN model identified optical density at several Hb wavelengths and metHb/hemichrome concentrations as main predictors of oxyHb concentration, with reported fit (y = 1.3 + 0.96x, R = 0.942).",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "In vitro study using blood samples; may not generalize to in vivo exposure",
    "Small sample size (n=12 per group)",
    "Exposure source/setup details not described in the abstract",
    "Results for 0.5 vs 1 mT and 1 h vs 2 h are not fully detailed in the abstract",
    "Oxidative status metrics are not specified in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields",
    "ELF-EMF",
    "50 Hz",
    "0.5 mT",
    "1 mT",
    "β-thalassemia major",
    "oxidative stress",
    "reactive oxygen species",
    "hemoglobin conformation",
    "plasma proteins",
    "Native PAGE",
    "SDS-PAGE",
    "artificial neural network",
    "multilayer perceptron",
    "oxyhemoglobin",
    "methemoglobin",
    "hemichrome"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "who-icnirp",
      "weight": 0.2,
      "reason": "Study concerns ELF-EMF exposure parameters (50 Hz, mT range) relevant to guideline discussions, though no policy content is described."
    }
  ]
}

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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: 10.1080/15368378.2020.1830289
PubMed: 33092422

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