Non-thermal effects of continuous 2.45 GHz microwaves on Fas-induced apoptosis in human Jurkat T-cell line.
Peinnequin A, Piriou A, Mathieu J, Dabouis V, Sebbah C, Malabiau R, Debouzy JC · 2000
View Original AbstractMicrowave radiation at WiFi frequencies disrupted immune cell death pathways without heating, challenging safety standards based only on thermal effects.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed human immune cells (T-cells) to 2.45 GHz microwave radiation for 48 hours at power levels well below heating thresholds. They found that this non-thermal microwave exposure interfered with a specific cellular death pathway called Fas-induced apoptosis, suggesting the radiation disrupted normal immune cell function at the molecular level.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that microwave radiation can disrupt immune cell function even when exposure levels are too low to cause heating. The researchers used 2.45 GHz frequency, the same used by WiFi routers and microwave ovens, at 5 mW/cm2 - a power density you might encounter near wireless devices in daily use. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates non-thermal biological effects on immune system cells, challenging the longstanding regulatory assumption that only heating effects matter. The disruption of apoptosis (programmed cell death) is concerning because this process is crucial for maintaining healthy immune function and preventing cancer. When cells can't properly regulate their own death, it can lead to immune dysfunction and potentially contribute to disease development.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 5 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 2.45 GHz
- Exposure Duration
- 48 h
Exposure Context
This study used 5 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 500Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 8.3Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
Non-thermal effects of microwaves (MWs) are one of the main issues studied for revising standards. The effects of MW exposure on apoptosis at non-thermal level (48 h, 2.45 GHz, 5 mW/cm2) have been studied.
Results obtained assess non-thermal MW effects on Fas, but neither on butyrate- nor on ceramide-indu...
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2000_nonthermal_effects_of_continuous_1264,
author = {Peinnequin A and Piriou A and Mathieu J and Dabouis V and Sebbah C and Malabiau R and Debouzy JC },
title = {Non-thermal effects of continuous 2.45 GHz microwaves on Fas-induced apoptosis in human Jurkat T-cell line.},
year = {2000},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10910164/},
}