Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Contribution of Thermal and the Specific Effects in Cellular Response to Millimeter Wave Exposure.
Habauzit D, Le Quément C, Zhadobov M, Martin C, Aubry M, Sauleau R, Le Dréan Y. · 2014
View Original AbstractMillimeter wave exposure changed gene expression in human keratinocytes mainly through heating, but a small specific electromagnetic effect was also detected under hyperthermia conditions.
Plain English Summary
Researchers used a whole gene expression approach to assess the effect of acute 60 GHz exposure on primary cultures of human keratinocytes. Exposure led to an increase of temperature and a strong modification of keratinocyte gene expression, with 665 genes differentially expressed. When temperature was artificially kept constant, no modification in gene expression was observed after millimeter wave exposure. A heat shock control did not mimic exactly the millimeter wave effect, suggesting a slight but specific electromagnetic effect under hyperthermia conditions, with 34 genes differentially expressed.
Why This Matters
The study aimed to evaluate the biocompatibility of millimeter waves at 60 GHz. The exposure level used was 20 mW/cm2, described as corresponding to the maximum incident power density authorized for public use. Controls were performed to dissociate the electromagnetic from the thermal effect of millimeter waves. Seven genes were validated as differentially expressed by RT-PCR: ADAMTS6, NOG, IL7R, FADD, JUNB, SNAI2 and HIST1H1A. The researchers noted that their data evidenced a specific electromagnetic effect of millimeter waves associated with the cellular response to hyperthermia. The study raises the question of co-exposures associating radiofrequencies and other environmental sources of cellular stress.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 20 mW/cm²
- Source/Device
- 60 GHz
Exposure Context
This study used 20 mW/cm² for radio frequency:
- 2,000Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 33.3Mx 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
This study aimed therefore to evaluate the biocompatibility of MMW at 60 GHz
For this purpose, we used a whole gene expression approach to assess the effect of acute 60 GHz expo...
led to an increase of temperature and to a strong modification of keratinocyte gene expression (665 ...
Our data evidenced a specific electromagnetic effect of MMW, which is associated to the cellular response to hyperthermia. This study raises the question of co-exposures associating radiofrequencies and other environmental sources of cellular stress.
Show BibTeX
@article{d_2014_transcriptome_analysis_reveals_the_1010,
author = {Habauzit D and Le Quément C and Zhadobov M and Martin C and Aubry M and Sauleau R and Le Dréan Y.},
title = {Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Contribution of Thermal and the Specific Effects in Cellular Response to Millimeter Wave Exposure.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109435},
}