GSM-900MHz at low dose temperature-dependently downregulates α-synuclein in cultured cerebral cells independently of chaperone-mediated-autophagy.
Terro F, Magnaudeix A, Crochetet M, Martin L, Bourthoumieu S, Wilson CM, Yardin C, Leveque P. · 2012
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at typical use levels altered brain proteins linked to Parkinson's disease by 24% in just 24 hours.
Plain English Summary
French researchers exposed brain cells to cell phone radiation for 24 hours and found it reduced alpha-synuclein protein levels by 24%. This protein is linked to Parkinson's disease. The changes occurred due to slight heating rather than direct cellular damage, showing radiation affects brain proteins even at typical phone exposure levels.
Why This Matters
This study reveals something significant about how cell phone radiation affects the brain at the molecular level. The researchers found that exposure at 0.25 W/kg - well within the range of typical cell phone use - altered levels of alpha-synuclein, a protein central to Parkinson's disease development. What makes this particularly noteworthy is that the effect occurred through thermal mechanisms, meaning even the slight warming from RF radiation can trigger biochemical changes in brain cells. The science demonstrates that our phones don't need to cause immediate cell death to have biological effects. The researchers themselves noted that the long-term consequences of these protein changes remain unknown, which should give us pause about dismissing low-level exposures as harmless.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.25 W/kg
- Source/Device
- GSM-900MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 24 h
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
The expanding use of GSM devices has resulted in public concern. Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a way for protein degradation in the lysosomes and increases under stress conditions as a cell defense response. α-synuclein, a CMA substrate, is a component of Parkinson disease. Since GSM might constitute a stress signal, we raised the possibility that GSM could alter the CMA process. Here, we analyzed the effects of chronic exposure to a low GSM-900MHz dose on apoptosis and CMA. Cultured cerebral cortical cells were sham-exposed or exposed to GSM-900MHz at specific absorption rate (SAR): 0.25W/kg for 24 h using a wire-patch cell.
Apoptosis was analyzed by DAPI stain of the nuclei and western blot of cleaved caspase-3. The expres...
24 h exposure to GSM-900MHz resulted in ∼0.5°C temperature rise. It did not induce apoptosis but inc...
Show BibTeX
@article{f_2012_gsm900mhz_at_low_dose_1354,
author = {Terro F and Magnaudeix A and Crochetet M and Martin L and Bourthoumieu S and Wilson CM and Yardin C and Leveque P.},
title = {GSM-900MHz at low dose temperature-dependently downregulates α-synuclein in cultured cerebral cells independently of chaperone-mediated-autophagy.},
year = {2012},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22185909/},
}