p38 MAPK patterned EMF affects PC-12 neurite outgrowth after 2 days of treatment

The resonant recognition model (RRM) proposed by Irena Cosic (1994) asserts that all proteins have a characteristic frequency to which they can respond, reflective of the cumulative electrical potential of each amino acid within their primary sequence. Electrical activation of cellular processes by electromagnetic fields (EMF) has been demonstrated to be pattern- and dose-dependent. Furthermore, Buckner et al. (2015) demonstrated that the Thomas magnetic field pattern inhibits cancer cell growth via T-type calcium channel-mediated calcium influx, indicating that magnetic field pattern can be specific activators of proteins. Using electron-ion interaction potential (EIIP) values determined by Cosic (1994), we modeled a magnetic field based on the primary structure of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK). p38 MAPK is a critical signaling factor for both NGF- and forskolin-induced neurite outgrowth in PC-12 cells, so we sought to determine whether EMF based on p38 MAPK would increase neurite outgrowth compared to control. We exposed forskolin-treated PC-12 cells to 1-hour p38 EMF treatments for 1 day, 2 days, and 3 days. Pictures were taken each day after treatment, and percentage of cells bearing neurites were calculated. We found a significant effect of the p38-modeled EMF on percentage of cells bearing neurites at 3 days (p<0.05). This effect demonstrates that p38-modeled EMF can induce increases in PC-12 neuronal differentiation in a time-dependent manner.

Keywords: Neurites, Electromagnetic Fields, p38 MAPK