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Brain & Nervous System

Exposure of nerve growth factor-treated PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells to a modulated radiofrequency field at 836.55 MHz: effects on c-jun and c-fos expression.

No Effects Found

Ivaschuk OI, Jones RA, Ishida-Jones T, Haggren W, Adey WR, Phillips JL · 1997

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Cell phone radiation at 9 mW/cm² reduced nerve cell gene activity by 38%, showing biological effects at exposure levels comparable to device use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed rat nerve cells to cell phone radiation at 836.55 MHz (the frequency used by early digital cell phones) to see if it would affect the activity of genes called c-fos and c-jun, which help control cell growth and responses to stress. They found mostly no effects, except for a 38% decrease in c-jun gene activity at the highest exposure level of 9 mW/cm². This suggests that cell phone radiation may have subtle effects on nerve cell gene expression, but only at relatively high exposure levels.

Why This Matters

This 1997 study is significant because it was among the first to examine how digital cell phone signals affect gene expression in nerve cells. The researchers used the actual TDMA signal format that was standard for North American cell phones at the time, making their findings more relevant to real-world exposures than studies using simple continuous waves. The 38% reduction in c-jun expression at 9 mW/cm² is noteworthy because c-jun helps regulate cell growth and stress responses. While 9 mW/cm² is higher than typical cell phone exposures to the head (which range from 0.1 to 2 mW/cm²), it's within the range that could occur with prolonged close contact. The reality is that even this early research showed measurable biological effects from cell phone radiation on nerve cells, adding to the growing body of evidence that these signals can influence cellular processes in ways we're still working to understand.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.09, 0.9, and 9 mW/cm²
Source/Device
836.55 MHz
Exposure Duration
20, 40, and 60 min and included an intermittent exposure regimen (20 min on/20 min off), resulting in total incubation times of 20, 60, and 100 min

Exposure Context

This study used 0.09, 0.9, and 9 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 0.09, 0.9, and 9 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 11 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 836.5 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 836.5 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Exposure of nerve growth factor-treated PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells to a modulated radiofrequency field at 836.55 MHz: effects on c-jun and c-fos expression.

Rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells have been treated with nerve growth factor and then exposed to ather...

No change in c-fos transcript levels were detected after 20 min exposure at each field intensity (20...

Cite This Study
Ivaschuk OI, Jones RA, Ishida-Jones T, Haggren W, Adey WR, Phillips JL (1997). Exposure of nerve growth factor-treated PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells to a modulated radiofrequency field at 836.55 MHz: effects on c-jun and c-fos expression. Bioelectromagnetics 18(3):223-229, 1997.
Show BibTeX
@article{oi_1997_exposure_of_nerve_growth_3108,
  author = {Ivaschuk OI and Jones RA and Ishida-Jones T and Haggren W and Adey WR and Phillips JL},
  title = {Exposure of nerve growth factor-treated PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells to a modulated radiofrequency field at 836.55 MHz: effects on c-jun and c-fos expression.},
  year = {1997},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9096840/},
}
PubMed: 9096840

Cited By (90 papers)

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Quick Questions About This Study

A 1997 study found that 836.55 MHz radiation (early digital cell phone frequency) had minimal effects on nerve cell genes. Only the c-jun gene showed a 38% decrease, and only at the highest exposure level of 9 mW/cm². The c-fos gene remained unchanged across all exposure levels.
Research on PC12 rat nerve cells exposed to 836.55 MHz radiation found mostly no damage. The study detected only one change: reduced c-jun gene activity at high exposure levels. This suggests early digital phone frequencies have limited effects on nerve cells under normal conditions.
The c-jun gene in nerve cells showed decreased activity only at 9 mW/cm² exposure to 836.55 MHz radiation. This high exposure level caused a 38% reduction in c-jun expression after 20 minutes, while lower exposure levels produced no detectable changes.
In the 1997 PC12 cell study, researchers found gene effects only after 20 minutes of 836.55 MHz exposure. The c-fos gene could only be detected consistently at this timepoint, while c-jun changes occurred exclusively at the 20-minute mark with high-intensity exposure.
Nerve growth factor-treated PC12 cells showed minimal sensitivity to 836.55 MHz digital phone radiation. The 1997 study found these specialized nerve cells maintained normal gene expression at most exposure levels, with only subtle changes occurring at unusually high radiation intensities.