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Brain & Nervous System

Heat shock protein induction in fetal mouse brain as a measure of stress after whole of gestation exposure to mobile telephony radiofrequency fields.

No Effects Found

Finnie JW, Chidlow G, Blumbergs PC, Manavis J, Cai Z.. · 2009

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Fetal mouse brains showed no stress response to cell phone radiation at twice current safety limits throughout pregnancy.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed pregnant mice to cell phone radiation (900 MHz) for one hour daily throughout pregnancy to see if it caused stress in developing fetal brains. They measured heat shock proteins, which are biological markers that cells produce when under stress. The study found no evidence that the radiation caused stress responses in the fetal brain tissue, suggesting no detectable harm at the exposure levels tested.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz Duration: 60 min/day from day 1 to day 19 of gestation

Study Details

To determine whether whole of gestation exposure of fetal mouse brain to mobile telephone radiofrequency fields produces a stress response detectable by induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs).

Using a purpose-designed exposure system at 900 MHz, pregnant mice were given a single, far-field, w...

There was no induction of HSP32 or 70 in any brains, while HSP25 expression was limited to two brain...

Whole of gestation exposure of fetal mouse brains to mobile phone radiofrequency fields did not produce any stress response using HSPs as an immunohistochemical marker.

Cite This Study
Finnie JW, Chidlow G, Blumbergs PC, Manavis J, Cai Z.. (2009). Heat shock protein induction in fetal mouse brain as a measure of stress after whole of gestation exposure to mobile telephony radiofrequency fields. Pathology. 41(3):276-279, 2009.
Show BibTeX
@article{jw_2009_heat_shock_protein_induction_3021,
  author = {Finnie JW and Chidlow G and Blumbergs PC and Manavis J and Cai Z..},
  title = {Heat shock protein induction in fetal mouse brain as a measure of stress after whole of gestation exposure to mobile telephony radiofrequency fields.},
  year = {2009},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19291540/},
}
PubMed: 19291540

Cited By (18 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

No, daily one-hour exposure to 900 MHz radiation throughout pregnancy did not cause stress responses in fetal mouse brains. The 2009 study measured heat shock proteins, which cells produce when stressed, and found no evidence of cellular stress in developing brain tissue.
Heat shock proteins serve as reliable biological markers for cellular stress, but this study found no induction of HSP32 or HSP70 in fetal brains exposed to mobile phone radiation. Only HSP25 appeared in brainstem nuclei, occurring equally in both exposed and control groups.
Whole pregnancy exposure to 900 MHz mobile phone radiation produced no detectable stress response in mouse fetal brains. Researchers exposed pregnant mice daily for one hour throughout gestation and found no evidence of cellular damage using immunohistochemical markers.
No, brainstem nuclei showed no increased sensitivity to 900 MHz radiation. While HSP25 expression appeared in two brainstem nuclei, this occurred consistently in both radiation-exposed and non-exposed fetal brains, indicating normal developmental patterns rather than radiation effects.
Gestational exposure to mobile phone radiation at 900 MHz did not harm fetal brain tissue in this mouse study. Daily one-hour exposures throughout pregnancy produced no stress responses, suggesting no detectable cellular damage at the tested exposure levels.