Pulsating Extremely Low-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Influence Differentiation of Mouse Neural Stem Cells towards Astrocyte-like Phenotypes: In Vitro Pilot Study

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Jasmina Isaković
• Author: Filip Slatković
• Author: Denis Jagečić
• Author: Dražen Juraj Petrović
• Author: Dinko Mitrečić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine; (Department of Histology and Embryology)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Basic Medical Sciences; Cytology, Histology and Embryology

Abstract (english)

Even though electromagnetic fields have been reported to assist endogenous neurogenesis, little is known about the exact mechanisms of their action. In this pilot study, we investigated the effects of pulsating extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields on neural stem cell differentiation towards specific phenotypes, such as neurons and astrocytes. Neural stem cells isolated from the telencephalic wall of B6(Cg)-Tyrc-2J/J mouse embryos (E14.5) were randomly divided into three experimental groups and three controls. Electromagnetic field application setup included a solenoid placed within an incubator. Each of the experimental groups was exposed to 50Hz ELF-EMFs of varied strengths for 1 h. The expression of each marker (NES, GFAP, β-3 tubulin) was then assessed by immunocytochemistry. The application of high-strength ELF-EMF significantly increased and low-strength ELF-EMF decreased the expression of GFAP. A similar pattern was observed for β-3 tubulin, with high-strength ELF-EMFs significantly increasing the immunoreactivity of β-3 tubulin and medium- and low-strength ELF-EMFs decreasing it. Changes in NES expression were observed for medium-strength ELF-EMFs, with a demonstrated significant upregulation. This suggests that, even though ELF-EMFs appear to inhibit or promote the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons or astrocytes, this effect highly depends on the strength and frequency of the fields as well as the duration of their application. While numerous studies have demonstrated the capacity of EMFs to guide the differentiation of NSCs into neuron-like cells or β-3 tubulin+ neurons, this is the first study to suggest that ELF-EMFs may also steer NSC differentiation towards astrocyte-like phenotypes.

• Keywords (english): Animals; Astrocytes; Cell Differentiation; Electromagnetic Fields; Mice; Neural Stem Cells; Phenotype; Pilot Projects; Tubulin
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Numbering: vol. 25, no. 7, 4038
• e-ISSN: 1422-0067
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25074038
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:918877
• Publication: 2024-04-04
• Project: Number: IP-2016-06-9451; Title (croatian): Matične stanice usne šupljine čovjeka za liječenje ishemijske bolesti mozga; Title (english): Stem cells from human oral mucosa for treatment of brain ischemia; Acronym: ORASTEM; Leader: Dinko Mitrečić; Jurisdiction: Croatia; Funding stream: Research Projects
• Project: Number: KK.01.1.1.07.0071; Title (croatian): Sinergija molekularnih biljega i multimodalnog in vivo snimanja u pretkliničkoj procjeni posljedica ishemijskog moždanog udara; Title (english): Synergy of molecular markers and multimodal in vivo imaging in preclinical assessment of ischemic stroke consequences; Acronym: SINEMOZAK; Leader: Srećko Gajović; Jurisdiction: eu; Funding stream: European Regional Development Fund
• Project: Number: KK.01.1.1.01.0007; Title (croatian): Znanstveni centar izvrsnosti - eksperimentalna i klinička istraživanja hipoksijsko-ishemijskog oštećenja mozga u perinatalnoj i odrasloj dobi; Title (english): Scientific center of excellence - Experimental and clinical research of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in perinatal and adulthood; Acronym: ZCI-NEURO; Leader: Miloš Judaš; Jurisdiction: eu; Funding stream: European Regional Development Fund
• Document URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/4038
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2025-03-06 10:10:34