Effects of electromagnetic field exposure on gene transcription

Exposure of whole animals, isolated tissues, and cells to electromagnetic fields of various characteristics has resulted in a substantial literature detailing a wide range of effects at the morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted to defining a mechanism by which electromagnetic fields can couple to biological systems and generate this plethora of effects. As a consequence, there has been a growing interest in electromagnetic field-induced alterations in gene expression. Key studies are discussed which indicate that exposure of several cell types to electromagnetic fields that differ in waveform, amplitude, and frequency induced general changes in gene transcription. Moreover, exposure of T-lymphoblastoid cells to a 60 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field altered the transcription of genes encoding c-fos, c-jun, c-myc, and protein kinase C. Future studies in this area should focus on independent replication of key studies and identification of which events in the signal transduction pathways leading to gene transcription are altered by electromagnetic field exposure.