Low Magnetic Field Exposure Alters Prostate Cancer Cell Properties - Article

Sep 21, 2026

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Prostate cancer ranks as a leading malignancy in men and is responsible for substantial mortality worldwide. Electromagnetic and magnetic fields have been considered possible human carcinogens, yet the molecular and cellular pathways they affect remain insufficiently defined, especially for extremely low or hypomagnetic field exposure. This study evaluated very low magnetic field exposure (20 nT) delivered via magnetic shielding for 4 h using prostate cancer PC3 cells and prostate epithelial PNT2 cells. Extracellular vesicle profiles were analyzed together with KEGG and GO enrichment for EV proteomes. Results showed that 4 h exposure reduced cellular EV release and shifted PC3 EV cargoes toward an inflammatory and metastatic profile, supported by multiple associated disease and phenotype pathways, with fewer changes observed in PNT2 cells.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

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Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

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biology Article Low Magnetic Field Exposure Alters Prostate Cancer Cell Properties Sigrun Lange 1, *, Jameel M. Inal 2,3, Igor Kraev 4, Dafydd Alwyn Dart 5 and Pinar Uysal-Onganer 6, * Citation: Lange, S.; Inal, J.M.; Kraev, I.; Dart, D.A.; Uysal-Onganer, P. Low Magnetic Field Exposure Alters Prostate Cancer Cell Properties. Biology 2024, 13, 734. [https://doi.org/](https://doi.org/)[ ](https://doi.org/)[10.3390/biology13090734](10.3390/biology13090734) Academic Editors: Daniel R. Kattnig and Clarice D. Aiello Received: 30 August 2024 Revised: 11 September 2024 Accepted: 17 September 2024 Published: 19 September 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Pathobiology and Extracellular Vesicles Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London W1W 6UW, UK 2 Cell Communication in Disease Pathology, School of Human Sciences, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB, UK; [j.inal@londonmet.ac.uk or j.inal@herts.ac.uk](j.inal@londonmet.ac.uk or j.inal@herts.ac.uk) 3 Biosciences Research Group, School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9EU, UK 4 Electron Microscopy Suite, Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK; [igor.kraev@open.ac.uk](igor.kraev@open.ac.uk) 5 UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, Paul O’Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6DD, UK; [a.dart@ucl.ac.uk](a.dart@ucl.ac.uk) 6 Cancer Mechanisms and Biomarkers Research Group, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK * Correspondence: [s.lange@westminster.ac.uk](s.lange@westminster.ac.uk) (S.L.); [p.onganer@westminster.ac.uk](p.onganer@westminster.ac.uk) (P.U.-O.) Simple Summary: The effects of magnetic fields on health and disease have been subject to considerable research interest for the past few decades but still remain relatively poorly understood. Therefore, the identification of molecular and cellular pathways affected is of considerable importance. This study investigated the effects of very low magnetic field (LMF) exposure in a cellular model of prostate cancer (PCa), the second most common cancer diagnosed in men. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid structures released from and taken up by cells and play crucial roles in cell communication and in processes such as cancer spread via their protein and nucleic acid cargoes. Short-term (4 h) LMF exposure significantly altered the release profiles and protein content of EVs from PCa cells toa more pro-cancerous profile. We then investigated changes in several key micro-RNAs, which are regulators of cancer behaviour and indicators of cancer aggressiveness and metastasis. LMF exposure caused significant upregulation of three key oncogenic miRNAs (miR-155, miR-21, and miR-210) and significant downregulation of two key tumour-suppressive miRNAs (miR-126 and miR-200c) in the PCa cells. These changes were also associated with a significant increase in the cancer cells’ invasion capability, which is a key indicator of cancer aggressiveness. We further verified the metastatic ability of the cancer cells caused by the LMF exposure by assessing two metastasis-related proteins, matrix metalloproteinases MMP2 and MMP9, which both were significantly increased. We compared these findings with normal prostate cells, which showed fewer changes in response to LMF exposure. Our findings suggest that LMF exposure may promote a more aggressive cancer phenotype by modulating key molecular and cellular pathways, highligh

FAQs

What cellular effects did low magnetic field exposure have on prostate cancer cells?

Short-term low magnetic field exposure significantly altered extracellular vesicle release profiles and protein content from prostate cancer cells toward a more pro-cancerous, inflammatory and metastatic profile.

Which microRNAs changed after low magnetic field exposure?

Exposure caused upregulation of oncogenic miRNAs (miR-155, miR-21, miR-210) and downregulation of tumor-suppressive miRNAs (miR-126, miR-200c) in prostate cancer cells.

How did the study evaluate metastatic potential?

Metastatic ability was assessed by measuring metastasis-related proteins, including MMP2 and MMP9, which increased significantly after low magnetic field exposure.

Sep 21, 2026

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