Proteomic Analysis of the Effect of Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields (ELF-EMF) With Different Intensities in SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cell Line

During the last 3 decades, human is exposed to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) emitted by power lines and electronic devices. It is now well accepted that ELF-EMF are able to produce a variety of biological effects, although the molecular mechanism is unclear and controversial. Investigation of different intensities effects of 50 Hz ELF-EMF on cell morphology and protein expression is the aim of this study.
SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line was exposed to 0.5 and 1 mT 50 Hz (ELF-EMF) for 3 hours. Proteomics techniques were used to determine the effects of these fields on protein expression. Bioinformatic and statistical analysis of proteomes were performed using Progensis SameSpots software.
Our results showed that exposure to ELF-EMF changes cell morphology and induces a dose-dependent decrease in the proliferation rate of the cells. The proteomic studies and bioinformatic analysis indicate that exposure to 50 Hz ELF-EMF leads to alteration of cell protein expression in both dose-dependent and intensity dependent manner, but the later is more pronounced.
Our data suggests that increased intensity of ELF-EMF may be associated with more alteration in cell protein expression, as well as effect on cell morphology and proliferation.