title: Microwave fields have little effect on α-synuclein aggregation in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Potential health effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation from mobile phones arouse widespread public concern. RF fields from handheld devices near the brain might trigger or aggravate brain tumors or neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Aggregation of neural α-synuclein (S) is central to PD pathophysiology, and invertebrate models expressing human S have helped elucidate factors affecting the aggregation process. We have recently developed a transgenic strain of Caenorhabditis elegans carrying two S constructs: SC tagged with cyan (C) blue fluorescent protein (CFP), and SV with the Venus (V) variant of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). During S aggregation in these SC+SV worms, CFP, and YFP tags are brought close enough to allow Foerster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). As a positive control, S aggregation was promoted at low Hg(2+) concentrations, whereas higher concentrations activated stress-response genes. Using two different exposure systems described previously, we tested whether RF fields (1.0 GHz CW, 0.002-0.02 W kg(-1); 1.8 GHz CW or GSM, 1.8 W kg(-1)) could influence S aggregation in SC+SV worms. YFP fluorescence in similar SV-only worms provided internal controls, which should show opposite changes due to FRET quenching during S aggregation. No statistically significant changes were observed over several independent runs at 2.5, 24, or 96 h. Although our worm model is sensitive to chemical promoters of aggregation, no similar effects were attributable to RF exposures.
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: de Pomerai
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nooria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lafayette
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagarajan
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mehri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaviani Moghadam
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fineberg
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reader
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Greedy
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smartt
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David W P
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008872:Microwaves; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D066329:Protein Aggregates; D011874:Radiometry; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D066329:Protein Aggregates; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
keywords: C. elegans Parkinson's disease model; Foerster resonance energy transfer; mercury toxicity; microwave fields; α-synuclein aggregation