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Effect of Radiofrequency Radiation on Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

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Gläser K, Rohland M, Kleine-Ostmann T, Schrader T, Stopper H, Hintzsche H. · 2016

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Radiofrequency radiation had no clear effect on human hematopoietic stem cells across most measures, with one small decrease in DNA damage under GSM exposure.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers irradiated human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and HL-60 cells at GSM (900 MHz), UMTS (1,950 MHz), and LTE (2,535 MHz) frequencies, at intensities ranging from 0 to 4 W/kg SAR, for short and long exposure periods. Studied endpoints included apoptosis, oxidative stress, cell cycle, DNA damage, and DNA repair. In all but one endpoint, no clear effect of mobile phone radiation was detected; the only alteration was a small but statistically significant decrease in DNA damage in HSC exposed to GSM modulation for 4 hours.

Why This Matters

The researchers described this as the first published study investigating putative effects such as genotoxicity or influence on apoptosis rate of radiofrequency radiation in HSC. The overall conclusion was that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields did not affect cells of the hematopoietic system, in particular HSC, under the given experimental conditions. The one observed change, a decrease in DNA damage under GSM exposure, was described as small, so its biological significance is limited by the researchers' own characterization.

Exposure Details

SAR
0 to 4 W/kg
Source/Device
GSM (900 MHz), UMTS (1,950 MHz) and LTE (2,535 MHz)
Exposure Duration
short period (4 h) and a long period (20 h/66 h)

Where This Falls on the Concern Scale

Study Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextExtreme Concern - 0.1 W/kgFCC Limit - 1.6 W/kg
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz - 2.54 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHz - 2.54 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The goal of this study was to elucidate the extent to which cells of the hematopoietic system, particularly human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), were affected by mobile phone radiation.

We irradiated HSC and HL-60 cells at frequencies used in the major technologies, GSM (900 MHz), UMTS...

In all but one of these end points, we detected no clear effect of mobile phone radiation; the only ...

To our knowledge, this is the first published study in which putative effects (e.g., genotoxicity or influence on apoptosis rate) of radiofrequency radiation were investigated in HSC. Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields did not affect cells of the hematopoietic system, in particular HSC, under the given experimental conditions.

Cite This Study
Gläser K, Rohland M, Kleine-Ostmann T, Schrader T, Stopper H, Hintzsche H. (2016). Effect of Radiofrequency Radiation on Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells. Radiat Res. 186(5):455-465, 2016.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2016_effect_of_radiofrequency_radiation_1000,
  author = {Gläser K and Rohland M and Kleine-Ostmann T and Schrader T and Stopper H and Hintzsche H.},
  title = {Effect of Radiofrequency Radiation on Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells.},
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27710704/},
}
PubMed: 27710704

Cited By (24 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and HL-60 cells.
Cells were exposed at GSM (900 MHz), UMTS (1,950 MHz), and LTE (2,535 MHz), with intensities ranging from 0 to 4 W/kg SAR.
Exposure of HSC to GSM modulation for 4 hours caused a small but statistically significant decrease in DNA damage compared to sham exposure.
Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields did not affect cells of the hematopoietic system, in particular HSC, under the given experimental conditions.
The studied endpoints included apoptosis, oxidative stress, cell cycle, DNA damage, and DNA repair.