Up-regulation of miR-144 and miR-375 in the human gastric cancer cell line following the exposure to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields

Abstract

Purpose

Recently, therapeutic effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) as complementary and alternative medicine, used in the oncology field to control disease symptoms. Micro RNAs (miRs) are responsible for the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in the cell. This study aimed to evaluate the expression changes of miR-144 and miR-375 in the human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS) under the exposure of ELF-EMF.

Materials and methods

AGS cells were exposed to magnetic flux densities of 0.2 and 2 mT for 18 h, continuously and discontinuously (1.5 h on/1.5 h off). Cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. Changes of miR-144 expression levels in AGS cells immediately after exposure and 18 and 36 h after the exposure cut-off was calculated by QRT-PCR.

Results

The cell viability of AGS cells was decreased under the exposure of 0.2 and 2 mT EMFs when compared to the control. Up-regulation of miR-144 and miR-375 were observed in AGS cells under the exposure of magnetic fields.

Conclusions

The results indicated that the miR levels were significantly decreased 18 and 36 h after finishing the exposure, but not reached the normal range. The results of this investigation indicated that weak and moderate intermittent 50 Hz ELF-EMFs can induce changes in miRNA expression.

Keywords:

• MiR-144
• miR-375
• ELF-EMF
• AGS cell line

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Cancer Institute of Iran and Razi Drug Research Center, particularly Ms. Hadiseh Mohammadpour and Ms. Neda Tekieh Maroof, who contributed to this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatemeh Aalami Zavareh

Fatemeh Aalami Zavareh, is an MSc student at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Soheila Abdi

Soheila Abdi, MSc, Ph.D. of Atomic Physics, is Assistant Professor at Department of Physics, Safadasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Maliheh Entezari

Maliheh Entezari, MSc, Ph.D. of Cell Developmental is Associate Professor at Farhikhtegan Medical Convergence, Science Research Center, Farhikhtegan Hospital, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.