ABSTRACT Repetitive DNA (RE-DNA) was long thought to be silent and inert; only recent research has shown that it can be transcribed and that transcription alteration can be induced by environmental stress conditions, causing human pathological effects. The aim of this study was to determine whether exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) could affect the transcription of RE-DNA. To this purpose, three different human cell lines (HeLa, BE(2)C and SH-SY5Y) were exposed to 900 MHz GSM-modulated RF-EMF at specific absorption rate of 1 W/kg or to sham. After exposure, mRNA levels of RE-DNA were evaluated through quantitative real-time PCR. The following RE-DNA types were investigated: Long Interspersed nucleotide Element 1, DNA alpha satellite and Human Endogenous Retroviruses-like sequences. When comparing cells exposed to RF-EMF versus control samples, different results were found for the three cell lines evaluated, indicating that RF-EMF exposure can significantly affect RE-DNA transcription and that the effects strongly depend on the cellular context and the tissue type. Further studies are needed to elucidate which molecular mechanisms could be involved.

中文翻译：

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电磁场暴露对人体细胞中重复DNA元件转录的影响

摘要 重复 DNA (RE-DNA) 长期以来被认为是沉默和惰性的。只有最近的研究表明它可以被转录，并且环境压力条件可以诱导转录改变，从而导致人类病理学影响。本研究的目的是确定暴露于射频电磁场 (RF-EMF) 是否会影响 RE-DNA 的转录。为此，将三种不同的人类细胞系（HeLa、BE(2)C 和 SH-SY5Y）暴露于 900 MHz GSM 调制的 RF-EMF，特定吸收率为 1 W/kg 或进行假手术。暴露后，通过定量实时 PCR 评估 RE-DNA 的 mRNA 水平。研究了以下 RE-DNA 类型：长散布核苷酸元件 1、DNA α 卫星和人类内源性逆转录病毒样序列。当比较暴露于 RF-EMF 的细胞与对照样品时，发现评估的三种细胞系的结果不同，表明暴露于 RF-EMF 可以显着影响 RE-DNA 转录，并且这种影响很大程度上取决于细胞环境和组织类型. 需要进一步的研究来阐明可能涉及哪些分子机制。