Friday, June 22, 2018

How electromagnetic fields can influence adult stem cells: positive and negative impacts.

The electromagnetic field (EMF) has a great impact on our body. It has been successfully used in physiotherapy for the treatment of bone disorders and osteoarthritis, as well as for cartilage regeneration or pain reduction. Recently, EMFs have also been applied in in vitro experiments on cell/stem cell cultures. Stem cells reside in almost all tissues within the human body, where they exhibit various potential. These cells are of great importance because they control homeostasis, regeneration, and healing. Nevertheless, stem cells when become cancer stem cells, may influence the pathological condition. In this article we review the current knowledge on the effects of EMFs on human adult stem cell biology, such as proliferation, the cell cycle, or differentiation. We present the characteristics of the EMFs used in miscellaneous assays. Most research has so far been performed during osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. It has been demonstrated that the effects of EMF stimulation depend on the intensity and frequency of the EMF and the time of exposure to it. However, other factors may affect these processes, such as growth factors, reactive oxygen species, and so forth. Exploration of this research area may enhance the development of EMF-based technologies used in medical applications and thereby improve stem cell-based therapy and tissue engineering.
http://europepmc.org/articles/pmc4834823

Thursday, June 14, 2018

The Possible Role of Dehydrating Effect of Static Magnetic Fields in Cancer Treatment

Very objective and detailed paper, with a good theory:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321348988_The_Possible_Role_of_Dehydrating_Effect_of_Static_Magnetic_Fields_in_Cancer_Treatment

Moderate and strong static magnetic fields directly affect EGFR kinase domain orientation to inhibit cancer cell proliferation

Static magnetic fields (SMFs) can affect cell proliferation in a cell-type and intensity-dependent way but the mechanism remains unclear. At the same time, although the diamagnetic anisotropy of proteins has been proposed decades ago, the behavior of isolated proteins in magnetic fields has not been directly observed. Here we show that SMFs can affect isolated proteins at the single molecular level in an intensity-dependent manner. We found that Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a protein that is overexpressed and highly activated in multiple cancers, can be directly inhibited by SMFs. Using Liquid-phase Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) to examine pure EGFR kinase domain proteins at the single molecule level in solution, we observed orientation changes of these proteins in response to SMFs. This may interrupt inter-molecular interactions between EGFR monomers, which are critical for their activation. In molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, 1-9T SMFs caused increased probability of EGFR in parallel with the magnetic field direction in an intensity-dependent manner. A superconducting ultrastrong 9T magnet reduced proliferation of CHO-EGFR cells (Chinese Hamster Ovary cells with EGFR overexpression) and EGFR-expressing cancer cell lines by ~35%, but minimally affected CHO cells. We predict that similar effects of magnetic fields can also be applied to some other proteins such as ion channels. Our paper will help clarify some dilemmas in this field and encourage further investigations in order to achieve a better understanding of the biological effects of SMFs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5173076/