The effects of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields on c-Maf, STAT6, and RORα expressions in spleen and thymus of rat.

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) exposure at different magnetic flux densities on genes expression of transcription factor Maf (c-Maf), signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6), and retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) in the spleen and thymus of rats. Eighty adult male rats were separated into four ELF-EMFs exposed and were exposed to magnetic flux densities of 1, 100, 500, and 2000 µT at a frequency of 50 Hz for 2 h daily for up to 60 d. All rats were intraperitoneally immunized on d 31, 44, and 58 of exposure. The experimental results showed that the expression levels of c-Maf, STAT6, and RORα in the thymus were not significantly changed at different magnetic flux densities. The expression levels of RORα and c-Maf were significantly downregulated at the densities of 1 and 100 µT, while the expression of STAT6 was only significantly decreased at the density of 100 µT. In conclusion, low magnetic flux densities of ELF-EMFs may reduce the expression levels of c-Maf, STAT6, and RORα genes in the spleen.