Extremely Low Electromagnetic Fields Effect on Muscle Differentiation

For a long time it has been debated whether non-ionizing radiations could cause physical damages on organs and systems in our body. Over time all schools of thoughts have agreed upon the evident increase of the exposure to these spectra, due to information technology and electronic systems progress. This led to a new health-related concept, the electric pollution, which is mostly affected by population density, radiant systems potency and number of working systems at a time. This study aimed to investigate the effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field exposures on myogenic differentiation, by using a well-known model of in vitro cell differentiation, the C2C12 cell line. We have induced these cells to differentiate in presence of these fields at different intensities and we have evaluated the outcome on a number of cell differentiation stages. In summary, the hypothetical toxic effect of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields has been tested in terms of cell viability (growth curves and mitochondrial potential) and influence on the myogenic process from a morphological (fusion index) and functional (connexins, cytoplasmic calcium variations) perspective.