The Protective Effect of Autophagy on DNA Damage in Mouse Spermatocyte-Derived Cells Exposed to 1800 MHz Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields.
Li R, Ma M, Li L, Zhao L, Zhang T, Gao X, Zhang D, Zhu Y, Peng Q, Luo X, Wang M. · 2018
View Original AbstractAutophagy induced by 1800 MHz radiofrequency fields appeared to protect mouse spermatocyte-derived cells from DNA damage via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway.
Plain English Summary
Mouse spermatocyte-derived cells (GC-2) were exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields at 4 W/kg for 24 hours. The exposure induced both autophagy and DNA damage in GC-2 cells through the generation of reactive oxygen species. When autophagy was blocked by knocking down AMPKα, DNA damage increased, while overexpressing AMPKα promoted autophagy and reduced DNA damage.
Why This Matters
The study focused on understanding what role autophagy, a cellular self-cleaning process, plays when spermatocyte-derived cells are exposed to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. Researchers measured reactive oxygen species levels, DNA damage via comet assay, and autophagy using three separate indicators: LC3II/LC3I ratios, autophagic vacuoles, and GFP-LC3 dots. The AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway was activated by ROS generation following exposure. The findings suggested that, although the fields caused DNA damage, the autophagy response they triggered through AMPK/mTOR signaling acted to limit that damage.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 4 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1800 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 24 h
Exposure Context
This study used 4 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 10x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
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
The aim of the present study was to determine the mechanism and role of autophagy induced by RF-EMFs in spermatozoa cells.
Mouse spermatocyte-derived cells (GC-2) were exposed to RF-EMFs 4 W/kg for 24 h. The level of reacti...
The results showed that RF-EMFs induced autophagy and DNA damage in GC-2 cells via ROS generation, a...
These findings demonstrated that the autophagy which was induced by RF-EMFs via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway could prevent DNA damage in spermatozoa cells.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2018_the_protective_effect_of_543,
author = {Li R and Ma M and Li L and Zhao L and Zhang T and Gao X and Zhang D and Zhu Y and Peng Q and Luo X and Wang M.},
title = {The Protective Effect of Autophagy on DNA Damage in Mouse Spermatocyte-Derived Cells Exposed to 1800 MHz Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields.},
year = {2018},
url = {https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/491660},
}