Induction of adaptive response in human blood lymphocytes exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields: influence of cell cycle.
Sannino A, Zeni O, Sarti M, Romeo S, Reddy SB, Belisario MA, Prihoda TJ, Vijayalaxmi, Scarfi MR. · 2011
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation triggers protective responses in immune cells, but only during active DNA replication phases.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed human immune cells (lymphocytes) to cell phone radiation at 1.25 W/kg for 20 hours, then tested how well the cells could protect themselves against a cancer-causing chemical. They found that cells exposed during their DNA-copying phase developed better defenses, while cells exposed during resting phases did not. This suggests that cell phone radiation may trigger protective responses in immune cells, but only when cells are actively dividing.
Why This Matters
This study reveals something remarkable about how our immune cells respond to radiofrequency radiation. The science demonstrates that 900 MHz RF exposure at 1.25 W/kg can trigger an adaptive response in lymphocytes, but only when cells are in their S-phase (actively copying DNA). What this means for you is that your body's immune cells may be mounting protective responses to RF exposure, but the timing matters critically. The 1.25 W/kg exposure level is well above typical cell phone use (which ranges from 0.1 to 2.0 W/kg during calls), making this research directly relevant to everyday exposures. The reality is that this adaptive response could be either protective or potentially problematic. While the cells showed enhanced resistance to DNA damage from a known carcinogen, the energy cost of constantly mounting these defenses remains unclear. This adds another layer of complexity to understanding how chronic RF exposure affects our immune system's cellular machinery.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 1.25 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 20h
Exposure Context
This study used 1.25 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 3.1x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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
To investigate the influence of cell cycle on the adaptive response (AR) induced by the exposure of human blood lymphocytes to radiofrequency fields (RF).
Human peripheral blood lymphocytes in G(0)-, G(1)- or S-phase of the cell cycle were exposed for 20 ...
The results indicated that the cells which were exposed to AD of RF in G(0)- and G(1)-phase of the c...
These results confirmed the observations reported in our previous investigation where AR was observed in human blood lymphocytes exposed to AD of RF in S-phase of the cell cycle and further suggested that the timing of AD exposure of RF is important to elicit AR.
Show BibTeX
@article{a_2011_induction_of_adaptive_response_1306,
author = {Sannino A and Zeni O and Sarti M and Romeo S and Reddy SB and Belisario MA and Prihoda TJ and Vijayalaxmi and Scarfi MR.},
title = {Induction of adaptive response in human blood lymphocytes exposed to 900 MHz radiofrequency fields: influence of cell cycle.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21557704/},
}