Induction of chromosomal aberrations in human primary fibroblasts and immortalized cancer cells exposed to extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields

Background: Rapidly increasing possibilities of exposure to environmental extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) have become a topic of worldwide investigation. Epidemiological and laboratory studies suggest that exposure to ELF-EMF may increase cancer risk therefore assessment of chromosomal damage in various cell lines might be of predictive value for future risk estimation. Materials and Methods: Primary cultures of fibroblasts from human skin biopsy were exposed to continuous extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (3, 50 and 60 Hz, sinusoidal, 3h, and 4 mT). Also immortalized cell lines, SW480, MCF-7 and 1321N1 were exposed to continuous ELF-EMF (50 Hz, sinusoidal, 3 h, 4 mT). Metaphase plates were prepared according to standard methods and stained in 5% Giemsa solution. Chromosomal aberrations of both chromosome and chromatid types were scored to evaluate the effects of ELF-EMF on primary or established cell lines. Results: Results indicate that by increasing the frequency of ELF-EMF, chromosomal aberrations were increased up to 7-fold above background levels in primary human fibroblast cells. In addition, continuous exposure to a 50 Hz electromagnetic field led to a significant increase in chromosomal aberrations in SW480, MCF-7 and 1321N1 cell lines compared to sham control. Conclusion: Results obtained indicate that ELF-EMF has the potential for induction of chromosomal aberrations in all cell types.