ArticlePLoS biology2018
Low-intensity electromagnetic fields induce human cryptochrome to modulate intracellular reactive oxygen species.
Article in PLoS biology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic analysis of cryptochrome in insect magnetosensitivity.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Safety and recommendations for TMS use in healthy subjects and patient populations, with updates on training, ethical and regulatory issues: Expert Guidelines.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Guideline
- Exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields and childhood cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Electromagnetic Stimulation to Reduce Disability After Ischemic Stroke: The EMAGINE Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields Enhance Resveratrol-Induced Apoptosis Through Modulation of Apoptotic Signaling in U87-MG Glioblastoma Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Frequency-specific electromagnetic modulation of brain redox state precedes cortical activity in stroke recovery.iScience · 2026Article
- Magnetoreceptive CRY/MagR complexes: linking circadian redox signalling to protein aggregation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.ADMET & DMPK · 2026Review
- Article
- Structure of European robin cryptochrome 1 reveals a role in circadian rhythms, not magnetoreception.iScience · 2025Article
- High-Intensity Pulse Magnetic Fields Affect Redox Homeostasis and Survival Rate ofBiomolecules · 2025Article
- Weak Radiofrequency Field Effects on Biological Systems Mediated through the Radical Pair Mechanism.Chemical reviews · 2025Review
- Full-Length Cryptochrome 1 in the Outer Segments of the Retinal Blue Cone Photoreceptors in Humans and Great Apes Suggests a Role Beyond Transcriptional Repression.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Theta Frequency Electromagnetic Stimulation Enhances Functional Recovery After Stroke.Translational stroke research · 2025Article
- Extremely low frequency magnetic field distracts zebrafish from a visual cognitive task.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Extremely Low-Frequency and Low-Intensity Electromagnetic Field Technology (ELF-EMF) Sculpts Microtubules.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Article
- Magneto-oncology: a radical pair primer.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Review
- 'Seeing' the electromagnetic spectrum: spotlight on the cryptochrome photocycle.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Review
- Hypersensitivity to man-made electromagnetic fields (EHS) correlates with immune responsivity to oxidative stress: a case report.Communicative & integrative biology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 6 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Exposure to man-made electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which increasingly pollute our environment, have consequences for human health about which there is continuing ignorance and debate. Whereas there is considerable ongoing concern about their harmful effects, magnetic fields are at the same time being applied as therapeutic tools in regenerative medicine, oncology, orthopedics, and neurology. This paradox cannot be resolved until the cellular mechanisms underlying such effects are identified. Here, we show by biochemical and imaging experiments that exposure of mammalian cells to weak pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) stimulates rapid accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a potentially toxic metabolite with multiple roles in stress response and cellular ageing. Following exposure to PEMF, cell growth is slowed, and ROS-responsive genes are induced. These effects require the presence of cryptochrome, a putative magnetosensor that synthesizes ROS. We conclude that modulation of intracellular ROS via cryptochromes represents a general response to weak EMFs, which can account for either therapeutic or pathological effects depending on exposure. Clinically, our findings provide a rationale to optimize low field magnetic stimulation for novel therapeutic applications while warning against the possibility of harmful synergistic effects with environmental agents that further increase intracellular ROS.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.