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Mobile phone radiation causes changes in gene and protein expression in human endothelial cell lines and the response seems to be genome- and proteome-dependent.

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Nylund R, Leszczynski D · 2006

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Mobile phone radiation triggers different genetic responses in different cell types, suggesting individual EMF sensitivity varies by genetic makeup.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Finnish researchers exposed human blood vessel cells to mobile phone radiation for one hour and found that genes and proteins changed differently in each cell type. This suggests that cellular response to phone radiation depends on the specific genetic makeup of cells, potentially explaining conflicting research results.

Why This Matters

This research reveals a critical insight that has been largely overlooked in EMF health debates: cellular response to mobile phone radiation appears to be highly individualized based on genetic factors. The study used a SAR level of 2.8 W/kg, which is above current regulatory limits but within the range of peak exposures from phones held directly against the head. What makes this study particularly significant is that it demonstrates measurable biological changes at the cellular level while also explaining why EMF research has been plagued by inconsistent results between laboratories. The reality is that if different cell types respond differently to the same radiation exposure, then individual people likely have varying sensitivities to EMF based on their unique genetic makeup. This challenges the one-size-fits-all approach to EMF safety standards and suggests that current exposure limits may not adequately protect genetically susceptible individuals.

Exposure Details

SAR
2.8 W/kg
Source/Device
900 MHz GSM
Exposure Duration
1h

Exposure Context

This study used 2.8 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):

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 ContextA logarithmic scale showing exposure levels relative to Building Biology concern thresholds and regulatory limits.Study Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 2.8 W/kgExtreme Concern0.1 W/kgFCC Limit1.6 W/kgEffects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 1x higher than this exposure level

Study Details

We have examined in vitro cell response to mobile phone radiation (900 MHz GSM signal) using two variants of human endothelial cell line: EA.hy926 and EA.hy926v1.

Gene expression changes were examined in three experiments using cDNA Expression Arrays and protein ...

Obtained results show that gene and protein expression were altered, in both examined cell lines, in...

Our findings might also explain, at least in part, the origin of discrepancies in replication studies between different laboratories.

Cite This Study
Nylund R, Leszczynski D (2006). Mobile phone radiation causes changes in gene and protein expression in human endothelial cell lines and the response seems to be genome- and proteome-dependent. Proteomics.6(17):4769-4780, 2006.
Show BibTeX
@article{r_2006_mobile_phone_radiation_causes_1239,
  author = {Nylund R and Leszczynski D},
  title = {Mobile phone radiation causes changes in gene and protein expression in human endothelial cell lines and the response seems to be genome- and proteome-dependent.},
  year = {2006},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16878295/},
}

Quick Questions About This Study

Finnish researchers exposed human blood vessel cells to mobile phone radiation for one hour and found that genes and proteins changed differently in each cell type. This suggests that cellular response to phone radiation depends on the specific genetic makeup of cells, potentially explaining conflicting research results.