Differential gene expression in breast cancer cells exposed to low frequency magnetic fields

Objective: Recently we observed a decreased sensitivity of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to the frequently prescribed antiestrogenic drug tamoxifen when cells were exposed to low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF). The behavior of the exposed cells bears similiarities to breast cancer cells with aquired tamoxifen resistance. To reveal the molecular basis of the altered growth characteristics gene expression in exposed cells was compared to the expression in non-exposed cells. Methods: MCF-7 cells were exposed to a 50Hz sinusoidal electromagnetic field of 1.2µT field intensity in a specially designed incubato…