Exposure to 50Hz-sinusoidal electromagnetic field induces DNA damage-independent autophagy

As electromagnetic field (EMF) is commonly encountered within our daily lives, the biological effects of EMF are of great concern. Autophagy is a key process for maintaining cellular homeostasis, and it can also reveal cellular responses to environmental stimuli. In this study, we aim to investigate the biological effects of a 50Hz-sinusoidal electromagnetic field on autophagy and we identified its mechanism of action in Chinese Hamster Lung (CHL) cells. CHL cells were exposed to a 50Hz sinusoidal EMF at 0.4mT for 30min or 24h. In this study, we found that a 0.4mT EMF resulted in: (i) an increase in LC3-II expression and increased autophagosome formation; (ii) no significant difference in the incidence of γH2AX foci between the sham and exposure groups; (iii) reorganized actin filaments and increased pseudopodial extensions without promoting cell migration; and (iv) enhanced cell apoptosis when autophagy was blocked by Bafilomycin A1. These results implied that DNA damage was not directly involved in the autophagy induced by a 0.4mT 50Hz EMF. In addition, an EMF induced autophagy balanced the cellular homeostasis to protect the cells from severe adverse biological consequences.