Mechanism underlying the bio-effects of an electromagnetic field based on the Huang-Ferrell model

To understand the beneficial and harmful bio-effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields, we studied the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway based on the Huang-Ferrell model. The sensitivity analysis method was used to study the influence of the model parameters on the activity of ERK, and to further investigate the key biochemical reactions and proteins. The results of the simulation show that an increase in the reaction rate of MAPK/ERK kinase had little effect on ERK activation and the steady-state molecular number. However, a decrease in the reaction rate of MAPK/ERK kinase significantly affected the trigger time of ERK activation and decreased the steady-state molecular number. Together with the biological significance of ERK activity, our findings indicate that the effects of electromagnetic fields are a result of the decrease in the reaction rate of MAPK/ERK kinase, which eventually determines whether these effects cause physical damage or are beneficial in treatment.