miRNA expression profile is altered differentially in the rat brain compared to blood after experimental exposure to 50 Hz and 1 mT electromagnetic field.

Common complex diseases are a result of host and environment interactions. One such putative environmental factor is the electromagnetic field exposure, especially the occupational extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field, 50 Hz, 1 mT, whose neurobiological relevance remains elusive. We evaluated the effects of long-term (60 days) ELF-MF exposure on miRNAs previously related to brain and human diseases (miR-26b-5p, miR-9-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-106b-5p, miR-107, miR-125a-3p). A total of 64 young (3 weeks-old) and mature (10 weeks-old) male/female Wistar-Albino rats were divided into sham and ELF-MF exposed groups. After sacrifice of the animals, blood samples from rat's tail vein and brain tissues were collected. The expression levels of miRNAs were investigated with Real-Time PCR technique and TaqMan probe Technology. All miRNA expression levels of the young female rats show a significant decrease in blood according to brain samples (p < 0.05), but fewer miRNAs displayed a similar significant decrease in the blood. In conclusion, these new observations might inform future clinical biological psychiatry studies of long-term electromagnetic field exposure, and the ways in which host-environment interactions contribute to brain diseases.