Study of the relationship between electromagnetic pulses and rats Alzheimer's disease and its mechanism

Purpose This study aimed to clarify the relationship between electromagnetic pulse exposure and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in rats and the possible molecular mechanisms, focusing on the role of oxidative stress as the bridge. Methods Healthy male SD rats. Carry out single electromagnetic pulse(EMP) exposure when the rat was one month old (field strength of 50kV/m, repetition rate 1Hz). Carry on Morris water maze(MWM) to test rats' cognitive and memory changes. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry assay were used to detect Alzheimer's disease-related protein expression, including the amyloid β protein (Aβ) and amyloid precursor protein (APP). Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and the content of glutathione (GSH) were used as oxidative stress indexes. Results After exposure, EMP exposure groups showed different cognitive and memory impairment. Western blot experiments showed that APP protein in each exposure group were higher, and tended to decrease with increasing exposure pulses compared with control group. Immunohistochemistry experiments show that the content of the Aβ protein and its oligomers in each exposure group were higher, and staining tend to gradually deepened with increasing exposure pulses. Determination of oxidation index showed that SOD activity, GSH content and GSH-Px activity in each exposure groups were lower than the control group (P <0.05), while no significant difference in MDA content. Conclusion The present results showed that single electromagnetic pulses exposure can cause long-term impair effects in rats cognitive and memory ability, resulting in Alzheimer's disease-like symptoms. It may be induced by the way of enhancing oxidative stress.