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Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin.

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Karinen A, Heinavaara S, Nylund R, Leszczynski D. · 2008

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A pilot study found that RF-EMF exposure may alter protein expression in the skin of human volunteers.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed a small area of forearm skin in 10 female volunteers to RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate of 1.3 W/kg and collected punch biopsies from exposed and non-exposed areas. Analysis identified 8 proteins that were statistically significantly affected, and two of those proteins were present in all 10 volunteers. The researchers described this as the first study showing that molecular level changes might take place in human volunteers in response to exposure to RF-EMF.

Why This Matters

This was a pilot human volunteer study using a proteomics approach to examine whether local RF-EMF exposure causes changes in protein expression in living people. Proteins extracted from biopsies were separated using 2-DE and protein expression changes were analyzed using PDQuest software. The number of affected proteins was similar to what the same researchers had observed in earlier in vitro studies. The researchers noted that earlier work showing mobile phone radiation alters protein expression in a human endothelial cell line did not guarantee a similar response would occur in the human body. The authors concluded that a proteomics screening approach can identify protein targets of RF-EMF in human volunteers.

Exposure Details

SAR
1.3 W/kg

Exposure Context

This study used 1.3 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 1.3 W/kgExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 1 times higher than this level

Study Details

In this pilot human volunteer study, using proteomics approach, we have examined whether a local exposure of human skin to RF-EMF will cause changes in protein expression in living people.

Small area of forearm's skin in 10 female volunteers was exposed to RF-EMF (specific absorption rate...

This is the first study showing that molecular level changes might take place in human volunteers in response to exposure to RF-EMF. Our study confirms that proteomics screening approach can identify protein targets of RF-EMF in human volunteers.

Cite This Study
Karinen A, Heinavaara S, Nylund R, Leszczynski D. (2008). Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin. BMC Genomics. 9(1):77, 2008.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2008_mobile_phone_radiation_might_1089,
  author = {Karinen A and Heinavaara S and Nylund R and Leszczynski D.},
  title = {Mobile phone radiation might alter protein expression in human skin.},
  year = {2008},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18267023/},
}
PubMed: 18267023

Cited By (96 papers)

View all 96 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study involved 10 female volunteers whose forearm skin was exposed to RF-EMF.
Eight proteins were statistically significantly affected, with two present in all 10 volunteers.
The skin was exposed to RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate of 1.3 W/kg.
The researchers suggested that protein expression in human skin might be affected by exposure to RF-EMF.
Earlier work studied a human endothelial cell line, while this pilot study examined protein changes in living people.