Effects of exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields on gene expression of estrogen-regulated gene in MCF-7 cells

To evaluate biological effects of intermediate frequency magnetic fields (IF-MF), estrogen-regulated gene expression under magnetic fields were studied. Genetically modified MCF-7 cells that transformed with ERE-luc fusion gene was used. Cells which endogenous estrogen depleted by estrogen free media are exposed to 21 kHz IF-MF for 24 hr. Then, luciferase activity was measured as estrogen-regulated gene expression. In this study, we have observed no significant difference in luciferase activity between exposed and sham-exposed cells by exposure to up to 3.9mT, 21 kHz IF-MF for 24hr. These results suggest that IF-MF is unlikely to affect directly on estrogen-regulated gene expression.