Protein expression changes during phagocytosis influenced by low-frequency electromagnetic field exposure.

International journal of biological macromolecules · 2022 · Mixed · Very low evidence

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MixedVery low evidencePaper 5735

Study snapshot

PublicationInternational journal of biological macromolecules · 2022

Study typein_vitro

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingVery low

Abstract

The aim of our studies was to determine the influence of a low-frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) on the phagocytosis of latex beads (LBs) and the expression level of proteins/genes in the human monocytic macrophage Mono Mac 6 (MM6) cell line in in vitro conditions. Before phagocytosis assay cells were pre-stimulated with infectious agents such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), or the proliferatory agent phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), and then exposed to EMF (30 mT, 7 Hz, 3 h). The expression of cytoplasmic proteins like iPLA, cPLA, iNOS, NLR3/4, and Hsp70 involved in the immune response pathways to phagocytosed particles were evaluated with the usage of the Western blot analysis. mRNA encoding the iNOS protein was detected by reverse transcription PCR method. The most meaningful changes were observed for PLA2 and NLC4 proteins level and between iNOS protein expression and mRNA encoding iNOS protein amount. The EMF exposure exerted the strongest effect on iNOS encoding mRNA in cells pre-stimulated with LPS or SEB and phagocytosing LBs. The influence of EMF on phagocytosis was experimentally proved for the first time and there is a need for further investigations in term of the usage of EMF as a prospect, supportive therapy.

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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

PopulationHuman monocytic macrophage Mono Mac 6 (MM6) cell line (in vitro)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureELF · 0.007 MHz · 3 h

Evidence strengthVery lowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In MM6 cells pre-stimulated with LPS, SEB, or PHA and exposed to a low-frequency EMF (30 mT, 7 Hz, 3 h), changes were observed in immune-response-related proteins and iNOS mRNA. The most meaningful changes were reported for PLA2 and NLC4 protein levels and for the relationship between iNOS protein expression and iNOS mRNA amount; the strongest effect on iNOS-encoding mRNA occurred in LPS- or SEB-pre-stimulated cells phagocytosing latex beads. The authors state that an influence of EMF on phagocytosis was experimentally proved and suggest further investigation for potential supportive therapy use.

Outcomes measured

Phagocytosis of latex beads
Protein expression levels (iPLA, cPLA, iNOS, NLR3/4, Hsp70)
mRNA amount encoding iNOS (RT-PCR)

Limitations

In vitro cell-line study; findings may not generalize to humans or in vivo conditions
Sample size and replication details not provided in the abstract
Exposure conditions limited to a single field strength (30 mT), frequency (7 Hz), and duration (3 h)
Direction/magnitude of specific protein and mRNA changes not fully quantified in the abstract

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "ELF",
    "source": null,
    "frequency_mhz": 0.007,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "3 h"
  },
  "population": "Human monocytic macrophage Mono Mac 6 (MM6) cell line (in vitro)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Phagocytosis of latex beads",
    "Protein expression levels (iPLA, cPLA, iNOS, NLR3/4, Hsp70)",
    "mRNA amount encoding iNOS (RT-PCR)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In MM6 cells pre-stimulated with LPS, SEB, or PHA and exposed to a low-frequency EMF (30 mT, 7 Hz, 3 h), changes were observed in immune-response-related proteins and iNOS mRNA. The most meaningful changes were reported for PLA2 and NLC4 protein levels and for the relationship between iNOS protein expression and iNOS mRNA amount; the strongest effect on iNOS-encoding mRNA occurred in LPS- or SEB-pre-stimulated cells phagocytosing latex beads. The authors state that an influence of EMF on phagocytosis was experimentally proved and suggest further investigation for potential supportive therapy use.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "In vitro cell-line study; findings may not generalize to humans or in vivo conditions",
    "Sample size and replication details not provided in the abstract",
    "Exposure conditions limited to a single field strength (30 mT), frequency (7 Hz), and duration (3 h)",
    "Direction/magnitude of specific protein and mRNA changes not fully quantified in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "very_low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "extremely low frequency",
    "ELF-EMF",
    "7 Hz",
    "30 mT",
    "macrophage",
    "Mono Mac 6",
    "phagocytosis",
    "latex beads",
    "iNOS",
    "PLA2",
    "NLRC4",
    "NLR3/4",
    "Hsp70",
    "Western blot",
    "RT-PCR",
    "LPS",
    "SEB",
    "PHA"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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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: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.07.080
PubMed: 35841960

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