Effects of 1950 MHz radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on Aβ processing in human neuroblastoma and mouse hippocampal neuronal cells

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease leading to progressive loss of memory and other cognitive functions. One of the well-known pathological markers of AD is the accumulation of amyloid-beta protein (Aβ), and its plaques, in the brain. Recent studies using Tg-5XFAD mice as a model of AD have reported that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) from cellular phones reduced Aβ plaques in the brain and showed beneficial effects on AD. In this study, we examined whether exposure to 1950 MHz RF-EMF affects Aβ processing in neural cells. We exposed HT22 mouse hippocampal neuronal cells and SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells to RF-EMF (SAR 6 W/kg) for 2 h per day for 3 days, and analyzed the mRNA and protein expression of the key genes related to Aβ processing. When exposed to RF-EMF, mRNA levels of APP, BACE1, ADAM10 and PSEN1 were decreased in HT22, but the mRNA level of APP was not changed in SH-SY5Y cells. The protein expression of APP and BACE1, as well as the secreted Aβ peptide, was not significantly different between RF-EMF–exposed 7w-PSML, HT22 and SH-SY5Y cells and the unexposed controls. These observations suggest that RF-EMF exposure may not have a significant physiological effect on Aβ processing of neural cells in the short term. However, considering that we only exposed HT22 and SH-SY5Y cells to RF-EMF for 2 h per day for 3 days, we cannot exclude the possibility that 1950 MHz RF-EMF induces physiological change in Aβ processing with long-term and continuous exposure.

Ginsenoside compound K reduces neuronal damage and improves neuronal synaptic dysfunction by targeting Aβ

“…Oligomers and fibers have been shown to be neurotoxic, forming through the aggregation of Aβ monomers ( Söderberg et al, 2022 ), Aβ monomers include Aβ42 and Aβ40 monomers, Aβ42 and Aβ40 monomers are produced by anomalous cutting the amyloid precursor protein (APP) ( Jiang et al, 2014 ). Intracellular APP forms a sAPPβ fragment and a C-terminal fragment (C99), which are cleaved by ß -secretase (BACE1); the C99 peptide is further secreted by γ-secretase (PS1) to secrete Aβ monomers into extracellular space ( Park et al, 2018 ), abnormal aggregation in extracellular and intercellular space to then occurs to form Aβ oligomers and Aβ fibrous filaments ( Hong et al, 2015 ). Aβ42 is more neurotoxic than Aβ40 ( Tiwari et al, 2019 ), and we focused on Aβ42 monomers.…”

Pulsed Telecommunication Signals of Non-ionizing Radiation Affect Amyloid Precursor Protein and α-Synuclein Metabolism in Non-neural Human Cells

“…Previous work on PTS irradiated (1950 MHz) neuroblastoma cells has suggested that RF-EMF exposure may not have a significant physiological effect on Aβ processing of neural cells in the short term [18], whereas our own work using also SY5Y cell line revealed that EMF exposure produces alterations on APP processing and cellular topology [19]. Interestingly, in a recent report [20] it has been shown that specific ranges of electromagnetic field parameters produce peptide conformations unfavourable for amyloid fibrils formation, a phenomenon that can be exploited in treatment and prevention of amyloid diseases Concerning Parkinson's disease (PD) it is considered the second major, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that affects 1% of the over 60 population in industrialized countries [21].…”

It is mandatory to review environmental radiofrequency electromagnetic field measurement protocols and exposure regulations: An opinion article

“…Several scientific studies evaluate the possible effects of prolonged exposure to microwaves at the epidemiological level (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) and in vitro or in vivo models (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). However, the use of different methodologies in radiation measurement processes and different configurations of exposure equipment, such as frequency, radiation power density, and exposure time; do not allow adequate comparison of results, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions.…”