title: Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields activate the antioxidant pathway Nrf2 in a Huntington's disease-like rat model.
abstract: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique used recently to treat different neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Despite its proven value, the mechanisms through which TMS exerts its beneficial action on neuronal function remain unclear. Recent studies have shown that its beneficial effects may be at least partly due to a neuroprotective effect on oxidative and cell damage. This study shows that TMS can modulate the Nrf2 transcriptor factor in a Huntington's disease-like rat model induced by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP). Western blot analysis demonstrated that 3-NP caused a reduction in Nrf2 in both cytoplasm and nucleus, while TMS applied to 3-NP-treated rats triggered an increase in cytoplasm and nucleus Nrf2 levels. It was therefore concluded that TMS modulates Nrf2 expression and translocation and that these mechanisms may partly explain the neuroprotective effect of TMS, as well as its antioxidant and cell protection capacity.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba/Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tasset
authors.forename: Aleyda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Herrera
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Arias-Carrión
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Drucker-Colín
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Túnez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D051267:NF-E2-Related Factor 2