Effects on micronuclei formation of 60-Hz electromagnetic field exposure with ionizing radiation, hydrogen peroxide, or c-Myc overexpression

Purpose: Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a possible correlation between exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) and cancer. However, this correlation has yet to be definitively confirmed by epidemiological studies. The principal objective of this study was to assess the effects of 60 Hz magnetic fields in a normal cell line system, and particularly in combination with various external factors, via micronucleus (MN) assays. Materials and methods: Mouse embryonic fibroblast NIH3T3 cells and human lung fibroblast WI-38 cells were exposed for 4 h to a 60 Hz, 1 mT uniform magnetic field with or without ionizing radiation (IR, 2 Gy), H ₂O ₂ (100 μM) and cellular myelocytomatosis oncogene (c-Myc) activation. Results: The results obtained showed no significant differences between the cells exposed to ELF-MF alone and the unexposed cells. Moreover, no synergistic effects were observed when ELF-MF was combined with IR, H ₂O ₂, and c-Myc activation. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that ELF-MF did not enhance MN frequency by IR, H ₂O ₂ and c-Myc activation.