The effect of electromagnetic fields on oxidative DNA damage

摘要

Many recent studies have focused on the investigation of the biological effects of electromagnetic field. Although the several types of biological effects of electromagnetic fields have been shown, the molecular mechanisms of these effects have not been explained yet. Some epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to ambient, lowlevel 50-60 Hz electromagnetic fields increase risk of disease including cancer such as leukemia among children who live close to power lines or among men whose jobs expose them to electromagnetic field, while others have suggested that electromagnetic fields exposure could increase both the concentration of free radicals and oscillating free radicals. Electromagnetic fields are known to affect radical pair recombination and they may increase the concentration of oxygen free radicals in living cells. In this study, oxidative stress was formed by the oxidation of ascorbic acid and the effect of 50 Hz, 0.3 mT electromagnetic fields on the oxidative DNA damage has been investigated. The results of the study showed that extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields enhanced the effect of oxidative stress on DNAdamage and supported the idea obtained from the previous studies on an increasing effect of electromagnetic fields on the concentration and the life-time of free radicals.