Abstract

From bacteria to mammals, nearly all organisms have adapted their physiology and behavior to a daily rhythm. These circadian (daily) rhythms influence virtually all aspects of physiological architecture (i.e., from gene expression to organismal behavior). Therefore, it is not surprising that several features of the immune response are regulated in a time-of-day dependent manner. The field of chrono-immunology has expanded tremendously over the past decade. In this abridged review, we present studies from the past five years that have revealed new parameters of the immune system that demonstrate daily variations in the control of pathogens and response to microbial components. These studies analyzed how the disruption of circadian rhythms impairs immune function, how microbial components alter the circadian clock, and how immune responses demonstrate daily variations in human subjects. Further elucidating the intricate connections between the circadian clock and the immune system will hopefully provide opportunities for chrono-immunotherapy in disease treatment and prevention.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC6585517/

The post Time is on the Immune System’s Side, Yes it is appeared first on EMFSA.

Date: November 24, 2021

Source: RCSI

Summary: New research has demonstrated the significant role that an irregular body clock plays in driving inflammation in the body’s immune cells, with implications for the most serious and prevalent diseases in humans.

Snippet:

Dr George Timmons, lead author on the study, said: “Our results add to the growing body of work showing why disruption of our body clock leads to inflammatory and infectious disease, and one of the aspects is fuel usage at the level of key immune cells such as macrophages.”

Dr Annie Curtis, Senior Lecturer at RCSI School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and senior author on the paper, added: “This study also shows that anything which negatively impacts on our body clocks, such as insufficient sleep and not enough daylight, can impact on the ability of our immune system to work effectively.”

Journal Reference:

1. George A. Timmons, Richard G. Carroll, James R. O’Siorain, Mariana P. Cervantes-Silva, Lauren E. Fagan, Shannon L. Cox, Eva Palsson-McDermott, David K. Finlay, Emma E. Vincent, Nicholas Jones, Annie M. Curtis. The Circadian Clock Protein BMAL1 Acts as a Metabolic Sensor In Macrophages to Control the Production of Pro IL-1β. Frontiers in Immunology, 2021; 12 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.700431

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211124154033.htm

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Summaries and assessments of selected studies

In the period from mid of July to mid of October 2020, 108 new publications have been identified, and eight of these were discussed in depth by BERENIS. Based on the selection criteria, three of these publications were selected as the most relevant ones. Their summaries and assessments are provided below.

1) Experimental animal and cell studies

Increased inflammatory response by the combined exposure with a radiofrequency electromagnetic field and particulate matter (Sueiro-Benavides et al. 2020).

Sueiro-Benavides et al. (2020) applied an interesting experimental approach with cultured cells of the immune system, investigating the combined effect of two environmental factors, an RF-EMF and black carbon, a model for particulate matter pollution.

The authors exposed a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) to a 2.45 GHz RF-EMF (SAR 0.4 W/kg) in combination with two different concentrations of black carbon particles for 24 or 72 hours. Cellular responses were compared with single and control treatments. While the higher concentration of black carbon particles led to a decrease in cell viability, a 24-hour RF-EMF exposure alone had no effect but exacerbated the black carbon effect in the combination of both factors.

Exposure durations of 72 hours resulted in the same pattern, although the increased combinatory effect was not observed at the lower concentration of black carbon particles, and RF-EMF alone led to a slight reduction in the viability of the cultures. In line with these observations, slight changes in the apoptosis marker caspase 3 were found.

Furthermore, the effect of exposure on the inflammatory response was investigated, assessing markers for inflammation such as TNFα (tumour necrosis factor α), IL-1β (interleukin-1β) and nitric oxide (NO). To enforce the immune response, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from bacterial cell walls were additionally used for NO analysis.

Compared to the lower dose of black carbon particles, the 24-hour RF-EMF exposure triggered a more pronounced increase in inflammatory markers, and the combination of both environmental factors led to an increase in NO production, but not to more TNFα and IL-1β. The changes in these immune response parameters were also reflected in the phagocytosis activity of the macrophages. The RF-EMF exposed cells internalized significantly more black carbon particles than the unexposed control cells. The observations in this publication are of importance because combinatory effects of environmental factors represent a realistic exposure scenario as numerous environmental factors occur simultaneously in our everyday lives. Their interactions and interplay are relevant for how our organism reacts to or copes with these stress situations. In this regard, the authors speculated that RF-EMF exposure might possibly alter the efficiency of the immune system since it stimulated an inflammatory response by activating signalling pathways and led to prolonged macrophage activities.

Yet, some technical and methodological uncertainties still need to be addressed in order to consolidate the conclusions of this study. For example, the figures contain some errors, and the control conditions should be carried out more rigorously in order to exclude potential confounding effects. Nevertheless, this study provides important insight into an influence of RF-EMF on the immune response triggered by other environmental factors.

Plant cryptochrome and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (Albaqami et al. 2020)

Although the study by Albaqami et al. (2020) is less relevant with regard to human health, it adds to previous studies showing that perception of magnetic fields is mediated by the cryptochrome (CRY) receptor, an evolutionarily conserved flavoprotein that exists not only in mammals and birds, but also in plants in which CRY acts as blue light receptor. Thale cress (Arabidopsis) was exposed to six cyclesof blue light for a total of 90 min (5 min blue light, 10 min dark). Exposure for a total of 4 weeks to an EMF with 7 MHz, 2 µT or a weak magnetic field with a field strength of 200 nT for one week reduced the biological response to blue light via CRY1 activity in the seedlings. When the alignment of the artificial magnetic field to the earth’s magnetic field was 90°, the observed effect was more pronounced than for 180°.
Blue light causes growth inhibition through increased CRY activity. Exposure to RF-EMF as well as the magnetic field of 200 nT inhibited the phosphorylation and thereby the activation of the CRY1 receptor.

Following RF-EMF exposure, thus, the young plants grew faster. The findings were underpinned by increased expression of genes involved in the modulation of CRY1. Based on a theoretical model, the authors attribute these effects to the radical pair mechanism. As already shown in mammals and birds for similar frequencies, the perception of the magnetic field in plants was causally linked to the CRY receptor.

2) Human experimental studies

Little evidence of effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields on sleep in healthy younger and older men (Eggert et al. 2020)

Eggert et al. (2020) investigated whether potential RF-EMF effects in men are age-dependent. For this purpose, data from three double-blind and randomised experiments were analysed. Thirty younger (mean age 25.5 years; two groups) and 30 older (mean age 69.1 years) men were exposed to two types of RF-EMF and a control condition without RF-EMF for 30 minutes before sleep and throughout the night. The RF-EMF conditions were GSM900 (Global System for Mobile Communications; carriefrequency 915 MHz, modulation 217 Hz, duty cycle 0.125, SAR 2 W/kg) and TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio; carrier frequency 385 MHz, modulation 17.6 Hz, duty cycle 0.25, SAR 6 W/kg). For each participant, sleep data from nine nights (three sets with three conditions) were registered.

Clear physiological sleep differences between younger and older men were observed in the control condition, as can be expected (such as shorter sleep times, longer latency to fall asleep, more fragmented sleep, lower sleep efficiency, less deep sleep in the older participants). TETRA exposure resulted in a significant reduction of sleep latency (duration to persistent sleep) in both age groups, which can be considered as a sleep-promoting effect. GSM900 exposure had no effect on objective sleep parameters.

A weak interaction between age and GSM900 exposure was observed in two of four subjective sleep parameters (sleep duration and number of awakenings.

Overall, the study showed hardly any effects of RF-EMF on sleep. The few significant test results can also be interpreted as chance findings due to the large number of statistical tests performed. The respective effect sizes were small.

References

Sueiro-Benavides RA, Leiro-Vidal JM, Salas-Sánchez AÁ, Rodríguez-González JA, Ares-Pena FJ, López-Martín ME (2020): Radiofrequency at 2.45 GHz increases toxicity, pro-inflammatory and preapoptotic activity caused by black carbon in the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Oct 4:142681. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33071139/

Albaqami M, Hammad M, Pooam M, Procopio M, Sameti M, Ritz T, Ahmad M, Martino CF (2020):
Arabidopsis cryptochrome is responsive to Radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields. Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 9;10(1):11260. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32647192/

Eggert T, Dorn H, Sauter C, Schmid G, Danker-Hopfe H (2020): RF-EMF exposure effects on sleep -Age doesn’t matter in men! Environ Res. 2020 Sep 12:110173.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32931791/

PDF https://www.emfsa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Newsletter-BERENIS-Nr.-25-May-2021.pdf

The post BERENIS – The Swiss expert group on electromagnetic fields and non-ionising radiation Newsletter Nr. 25 / May 2021 appeared first on EMFSA.

by University of Waterloo

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-shift-work-negative-impacts-health-affects.html

Shift-work and irregular work schedules can cause several health-related issues and affect our defense against infection, according to new research from the University of Waterloo.

These health-related issues occur because the body’s natural clock, called the circadian clock, can be disrupted by inconsistent changes in the sleep-wake schedule and feeding patterns often caused by shift work. To study this, researchers at Waterloo developed a mathematical model to look at how a disruption in the circadian clock affects the immune system in fighting off illness.

“Because our immune system is affected by the circadian clock, our ability to mount an immune response changes during the day,” said Anita Layton, professor of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Pharmacy and Biology at Waterloo. “How likely are you to fight off an infection that occurs in the morning than midday? The answer depends on whether you are a man or a woman, and whether you are among quarter of the modern-day labor force that has an irregular work schedule.”

Read more at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-shift-work-negative-impacts-health-affects.html

The post Shift-work causes negative impacts on health, affects men and women differently appeared first on EMFSA.

Abstract

The circadian clock exerts significance influence on the immune system and disruption of circadian rhythms has been linked to inflammatory pathologies. Shift workers often experience circadian misalignment as their irregular work schedules disrupt the natural light-dark cycle, which in turn can cause serious health problems associated with alterations in genetic expressions of clock genes. In particular, shift work is associated with impairment in immune function, and those alterations are sex-specific. The goal of this study is to better understand the mechanisms that explain the weakened immune system in shift workers. To achieve that goal, we have constructed a mathematical model of the mammalian pulmonary circadian clock coupled to an acute inflammation model in the male and female rats. Shift work was simulated by an 8h-phase advance of the circadian system with sex-specific modulation of clock genes. The model reproduces the clock gene expression in the lung and the immune response to various doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Under normal conditions, our model predicts that a host is more sensitive to LPS at circadian time (CT) CT12 versus CT0 due to a dynamic change of Interleukin 10 (IL-10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine. We identify REV-ERB as a key modulator of IL-10 activity throughout the circadian day. The model also predicts a reversal of the times of lowest and highest sensitivity to LPS, with males and females exhibiting an exaggerated response to LPS at CT0, which is countered by a blunted immune response at CT12. Overall, females produce fewer pro-inflammatory cytokines than males, but the extent of sequelae experienced by males and females varies across the circadian day. This model can serve as an essential component in an integrative model that will yield mechanistic understanding of how shift work-mediated circadian disruptions affect the inflammatory and other physiological responses.

Author summary

Shift work has a negative impact on health and can lead to chronic diseases and illnesses. Under regular work schedules, rest is a night time activity and work a daytime activity. Shift work relies on irregular work schedules which disrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle. This can in turn disrupt our biological clock, called the circadian clock, a network of molecular interactions generating biochemical oscillations with a near 24-hour period. Clock genes regulate cytokines before and during infection and immune agents can also impact the clock function. We provide a mathematical model of the circadian clock in the rat lung coupled to an acute inflammation model to study how the disruptive effect of shift work manifests itself in males and females during inflammation. Our results show that the extent of sequelae experienced by male and female rats depends on the time of infection. The goal of this study is to provide a mechanistic insight of the dynamics involved in the interplay between these two systems.

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The post EMFSA January 2021 Newsletter appeared first on EMFSA.

The post EMFSA January 2021 Newsletter appeared first on EMFSA.

SUMMARY

BACKGROUND

Analyze how the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and its social restriction measures affect sleep quality and the immunological system.

METHODS

An integrative bibliographical review was carried out using scientific articles from the last five years, from the PUBMED databases, with the descriptors: Sleep; Quarantine; COVID-19; Immunity; Mental Health. Besides the books “Oxford textbook of sleep disorders”, “Cellular and molecular immunology”, and “Treaty of Infectology”.

RESULTS

Sleep affects immunity. This happens through the regulation of immunological markers and their cells. Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic can promote sleep disturbances and harm the immune system function.

CONCLUSION

Sleep exercises a direct influence on immunity maintenance and immunological response. Circadian rhythm alterations, associated with the psychological problems imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic compromise the quality of sleep and, for that reason, the immune system.

https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-42302020001400143&tlng=en

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Abstract

Circadian rhythms affect a variety of physiological processes. Disruption of circadian rhythms causes many diseases, most of which are associated with inflammation. Disruption of circadian rhythms has a detrimental impact on the function of immune system. It is common to find that circulatory LPS are increased. LPS induces immune cells to produce inflammatory cytokines. Inflammatory cytokines play a role in skeletal muscle decay. Rev-erbβ has been identified as a critical regulator of circadian rhythms and a factor in inflammation. Another effect of disruption is a concomitant disturbance of glucose–insulin metabolism, which skeletal muscle likely contributes to considering it is a key metabolic tissue. Disruption of circadian rhythms is also related to obesity. Obesity can cause an increase expression of inflammatory cytokines. Maybe obesity with skeletal muscle decay is one of major characteristics. Future studies are needed to obtain a comprehensive understanding of inflammatory cytokines and skeletal muscle decay from the viewpoint of circadian rhythms.

The post The Interrelationship Between Inflammatory Cytokines and Skeletal Muscle Decay From the Viewpoint of Circadian Rhythms appeared first on EMFSA.

The illness mirrors many of the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease, including severe inflammation affecting the coronary arteries.

The symptoms in younger children include fever (lasting at least 2 days), a rash, red or peeling palms/ soles, red and cracked lips, and red inflamed eyes. Children may also have a strawberry red tongue.  PMIS may present even in children who never showed symptoms for coronavirus.

This condition, just weeks ago, did not exist in medical literature. 

EMFSA: Unsubstantiated claims have been made that there is a link between the symptoms (rashes, cardiac involvement) observed in COVID-19, PMIS, Electrohypersensitivity and 5G. This is of course unfounded and speculative.

Professor Johansson:

There are very many rightful questions regarding all types of artificial electromagnetic fields and their association with adverse health and biological effects.

As for the COVID-19 right now the epidemiological data is clearly showing that the spread is mostly related to population density — people living, working, and recreating in close quarters. That is certainly true in large portions of China, Italy, Iran, San Marino, New York, Spain, and South Korea where the infection rates have been the highest. The science right now says that social distancing is the key to flattening the epidemic curves and allowing health care capacity to catch up.

As for the 5G connection to immune response, at the present time that scientific link is not clear.

• First, as the recent EU briefing paper highlights, “…questions remain unanswered as to what 5G actually is, what it is for …..” The reality is that in most places that claim to have active 5G a great deal of the time the signals revert to 3G and 4G, with their own associated hazards. And, it is also unclear how many in the population actually have 5G compatible devices. So, it is unclear what the characteristics of exposure actually are in those areas, and as such, it is difficult to assess the potential role of 5G based on correlations in time and space until the exposure metrics are known.

• Second, when there is a new virus like this — an infection of the first impression — there is no immunity or adaptation possible in individuals or the population as a whole until after the population is exposed in large measure. So, whether or not people’s immune systems are compromised by other diseases, environmental exposures, or other stressors is not the determining factor for the spread at this early stage in the pandemic. A person’s general health is important as to the degree of incapacity the infection carries and underlying conditions certainly play a role in the severity of the illness and the ability of a person to recover. If this COVID-19 holds true and acts as other epidemics, it will be in the second and third waves that immune system integrity could play a much more important role in controlling the spread.

Make no mistake, this is a serious situation, but if our governments, businesses, and the people do their part, we will manage through this. I respect people’s will to demand that cell tower emissions are restricted until a proper industry-independent investigation into a possible link to the Coronavirus has taken place, but from my scientific horizon, it is too far-fetched to gain any momentum today.

In a democracy, people are – of course – entitled to speculate, but if they instead directed more time, effort, and money to the already established facts, we could change everything for the better rather than have to deal with these hypotheses.

Disturbance of the immune system by electromagnetic fields – A potentially underlying cause for cellular damage and tissue repair reduction which could lead to disease and impairment. Pathophysiology. 2009 Aug;16(2-3):157-77. doi: 10.1016/j.pathophys.2009.03.004. Epub 2009 Apr 23 johansson O1

“…it must be concluded that the existing public safety limits are inadequate to protect public health, and that new public safety limits, as well as limits on further deployment of untested technologies, are warranted.”

Resources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/which-kids-get-sickest-covid-19-medically-complex-study-finds-n1204361?cid=par-twitter-feed_20200512

https://www.clickondetroit.com/health/good-health/2020/05/11/rare-syndrome-affecting-children-appears-to-be-linked-to-coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/27/britains-national-health-authority-issued-worrisome-alert-about-children-covid-19-potential-complications/

Podcast https://foamcast.org/2020/05/10/covid-19-pediatric-multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-temporally-associated-with-covid-19/

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