Glioblastoma cancerous cells with differentgenetic patterns respond differently to the ELF-EMFapoptosis induction

Background: Glioblastoma is the most fatal primary braintumor in adults with an average survival between ۱۲ and ۱۵months. Despite advanced therapeutic methods, the mortalityrate is still high; thus, finding more effective treatment methodsis an undoubted demand. Recently, amounting of studies haveshown that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields(ELF-EMFs) have therapeutic potentials for cancer treatmentwith low side effects. The main aim of this study was to investigatethe apoptotic effect of ELF-EMF on glioblastoma (GBM)cell lines as well as normal fibroblast cells. Furthermore, alterationat the expression level of important genes which havepivotal role in this area assessed.Materials and Methods: U۸۷, U۲۵۱ (both as GBM cell lines),and fibroblast (as normal/control cell line) cells were exposedto ELF-EMF with the frequency of ۱ Hz, and ۱۰۰ mT intensity,for ۵ days, ۲ hours each day. Then, the rate of viability/apoptosiswere determined by using flowcytometry. P۵۳, P۲۱, andMDM۲ mRNA expression levels were evaluated by real-timePCR.Results: Annexin V/PI flowcytometry results revealed that thenormalized apoptosis, cell death, and necrosis rates respectivelywere ۱۱.۳۹%, ۱۵.۴۵%, and ۳.۶۴% in U۸۷, ۲.۴۳%, ۴.۵۵% and۲.۰۴% in U۲۵۱, and ۲.۱۹%, ۰.۹۵% and -۱.۱۸% Fibroblast. Real-time PCR results demonstrated that the mRNA expressionlevel of the P۵۳, P۲۱, and MDM۲ genes increased respectively۲.۵, ۱۴, and ۱.۸-fold more than the control group, in the U۸۷cells. The expression level of the mentioned genes decreased inthe U۲۵۱ cells.Conclusion: ELF-EMF induces apoptosis specifically in cancerouscells by increasing the expression level of P۵۳ and P۲۱.Its anti-cancer effect is much more in the U۸۷ cells comparedwith the U۲۵۱, that may reflect the role if genetics pattern inthis response.