Hsp70 is an independent stress marker among frequent users of mobile phones.
Balakrishnan K, Murali V, Rathika C, Manikandan T, Malini RP, Kumar RA, Krishnan M. · 2014
View Original AbstractHeavy mobile phone users show elevated cellular stress proteins, indicating their bodies are working to defend against radiation damage.
Plain English Summary
Researchers compared blood markers between 120 heavy mobile phone users (IT professionals) and 102 light users to see if phone radiation triggers stress responses in the body. They found significantly elevated levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in heavy users, indicating cellular stress and inflammation. This suggests that frequent mobile phone use may activate biological stress pathways that could potentially impact health over time.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how mobile phone radiation affects cellular stress responses. Heat shock proteins are the body's emergency response team - they activate when cells are under stress from heat, toxins, or other harmful exposures. The fact that heavy mobile phone users showed significantly elevated HSP70 levels suggests their cells are working overtime to protect themselves from radiation damage. What makes this finding particularly concerning is that HSP70 elevation was independent of exposure duration, meaning even newer heavy users showed this stress response. The elevated C-reactive protein levels further indicate systemic inflammation, a known risk factor for various health problems. While this study didn't measure specific radiation levels, IT professionals typically use phones extensively throughout the day, creating chronic exposure patterns similar to millions of workers worldwide.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study was to measure the serum concentrations of heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and C-reactive protein (CRP) and the expression levels of the hsp70 gene among frequent users of mobile phones (FUMPs).
We enrolled 120 employees of information technology (IT)/IT enabled service companies (FUMPs; IT pro...
Significantly higher concentrations of serum HSP70 (P < 0.00012) and CRP (P < 0.04) were observed am...
Thus, the study convincingly demonstrated the role of serum HSP and CRP as systemic inflammatory biomarkers for mobile phone-induced radiation.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2014_hsp70_is_an_independent_1866,
author = {Balakrishnan K and Murali V and Rathika C and Manikandan T and Malini RP and Kumar RA and Krishnan M.},
title = {Hsp70 is an independent stress marker among frequent users of mobile phones.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25404380/},
}