Objective: The characteristic biological effects of low-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) appear to be functional changes in the central nervous, endocrine and immune systems. For unapparent reasons, however, the results of similar studies have often differed markedly from one another. We recognized that it had generally been assumed, in the studies, that EMF effects would exhibit a dose-effect relationship, which is a basic property of linear systems. Prompted by recent developments in the theory on nonlinear systems, we hypothesized that there was a nonlinear relationship between EMFs and the effects they produced in the endocrine and immune systems.
Methods: We developed a novel analytical method that could be used to distinguish between linear and nonlinear effects, and we employed it to examine the effect of EMFs on the endocrine and immune systems.
Results: Mice exposed to 5 G, 60 Hz for 1-175 days in 7 independent experiments reliably exhibited changes in serum corticosterone and lymphoid phenotype when the data were analyzed while allowing that the field exposure and the resulting effects could be nonlinearly related. When the analysis was restricted to linear relationships, no effects due to the field were found.
Conclusions: The results indicated that transduction of EMFs resulted in changes in both the endocrine and immune systems, and that the laws governing the changes in each system were not the type that govern conventional dose-effect relationships. Evidence based on mathematical modeling was found suggesting that the coincident changes could have been causally related.
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Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
January 2025
Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Regulation of Metabolic Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Sertoli cells (SCs), as the somatic cells in the testis of male mammals, play a crucial role in the close association with germ cells. The blood-testicular barrier (BTB), established by their tight junctions, provides immune protection to germ cells, leading to their characterization as "sentinel" cells. Moreover, the physiological process of testicular development and spermatogenesis in male animals is intricately tied to the secretory activities of SCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNature
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
The γ-carboxylation of glutamate residues enables Ca-mediated membrane assembly of protein complexes that support broad physiological functions including hemostasis, calcium homeostasis, immune response, and endocrine regulation. Modulating γ-carboxylation level provides prevalent treatments for hemorrhagic and thromboembolic diseases. This unique posttranslational modification requires vitamin K hydroquinone (KH) to drive highly demanding reactions catalyzed by the membrane-integrated γ-carboxylase (VKGC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Genet
January 2025
Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Background: Neoadjuvant, endocrine, and targeted therapies have significantly improved the prognosis of breast cancer (BC). However, due to the high heterogeneity of cancer, some patients cannot benefit from existing treatments. Increasing evidence suggests that amino acids and their metabolites can alter the tumor malignant behavior through reshaping tumor microenvironment and regulation of immune cell function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Clin Cancer Res
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular, Endocrine-Metabolic Diseases and Aging, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Background: Bacterial toxins are emerging as promising hallmarks of colorectal cancer (CRC) pathogenesis. In particular, Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor 1 (CNF1) from E. coli deserves special consideration due to the significantly higher prevalence of this toxin gene in CRC patients with respect to healthy subjects, and to the numerous tumor-promoting effects that have been ascribed to the toxin in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
January 2025
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Science Enterprise Center, 4160 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, British Columbia V7V 1N6, Canada.
The St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga () population in Canada is Endangered, and endocrine disrupting contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and other halogenated flame retardants, have been identified as a threat to the recovery of this population. Here, potential impacts of these contaminants on SLE beluga were evaluated by comparing skin transcriptome profiles and biological pathways between this population and a population less exposed to contaminants (Eastern Beaufort Sea) used as a reference.
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