Activity and expression of acetylcholinesterase in PC12 cells exposed to intermittent 1.8 GHz 217-GSM mobile phone signal.
Valbonesi P, Franzellitti S, Bersani F, Contin A, Fabbri E. · 2016
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at legal limits increased a critical brain enzyme by 40%, potentially affecting memory and learning functions.
Plain English Summary
Italian researchers exposed rat brain cells to cell phone radiation at the legal safety limit for 24 hours and found that a key brain enzyme called acetylcholinesterase increased by 40%. This enzyme is crucial for memory, learning, and proper brain function, and disruptions to it are linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
Why This Matters
This study provides concerning evidence that cell phone radiation can directly affect brain chemistry at exposure levels considered 'safe' by regulators. The 2 W/kg SAR used in this research represents the legal limit for cell phones in many countries, meaning millions of people may be experiencing these effects during normal phone use. What makes this finding particularly significant is that acetylcholinesterase disruption is a hallmark of neurological disorders. The researchers found this effect occurred without changes in gene expression, suggesting the radiation directly interferes with enzyme function rather than cellular programming. While this was a laboratory study using isolated cells, it adds to a growing body of evidence that our current safety standards may not adequately protect the nervous system from RF radiation effects.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1.8 GHz 217-GSM
- Exposure Duration
- 24 hours
Exposure Context
This study used 2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 5x 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
We investigated possible alterations of enzymatic activity, gene and protein expression of AChE in neuronal-like cells exposed to a 1.8 GHz Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modulated signal (217-GSM).
Rat PC12 cells were exposed for 24 h to 1.8 GHz 217-GSM signal. Specific adsorption rate (SAR) was 2...
AChE enzymatic activity increased of 1.4-fold in PC12 cells exposed to 217-GSM signal for 24 h, whil...
Our results provide the first evidence of effects on AChE activity after in vitro exposure of mammalian cells to the RF-EMF generated by GSM mobile phones, at the SAR value 2 W/kg. The obtained evidence promotes further investigations on AChE as a possible target of RF-EMF and confirm the ability of 1.8 GHz 217-GSM signal to induce biological effects in different mammalian cells.
Show BibTeX
@article{p_2016_activity_and_expression_of_1397,
author = {Valbonesi P and Franzellitti S and Bersani F and Contin A and Fabbri E.},
title = {Activity and expression of acetylcholinesterase in PC12 cells exposed to intermittent 1.8 GHz 217-GSM mobile phone signal.},
year = {2016},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26630175/},
}