Exposure to 1800 MHz radiofrequency radiation induces oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in primary cultured neurons.
Xu S, Zhong M, Zhang L, Zhou Z, Zhang W, Wang Y, Wang X, Li M, Chen Y, Chen C, He M, Zhang G, Yu Z. · 2010
View Original AbstractExposure to 1800 MHz radiofrequency radiation caused oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in primary cultured neurons, and pretreatment with melatonin reversed these effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed primary cultured cortical neurons to pulsed radiofrequency electromagnetic fields at 1800 MHz modulated by 217 Hz at an average specific absorption rate of 2 W/kg. At 24 hours after exposure, researchers found a significant increase in levels of 8-hydroxyguanine, a common biomarker of DNA oxidative damage, in the mitochondria of neurons. The copy number of mitochondrial DNA and the levels of mitochondrial RNA transcripts showed an obvious reduction after RF exposure. Each of these mitochondrial DNA disturbances could be reversed by pretreatment with melatonin.
Why This Matters
The study focused on mitochondrial DNA because, as the researchers noted, mitochondrial DNA defects are closely associated with various nervous system diseases and mitochondrial DNA is highly susceptible to oxidative stress. The researchers used 8-hydroxyguanine as their primary indicator of oxidative damage, describing it as a common biomarker of DNA oxidative damage. The researchers suggested that oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA may account for the neurotoxicity of RF radiation in the brain.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 1800 MHz modulated by 217 Hz
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
Increasing evidence indicates that oxidative stress may be involved in the adverse effects of radiofrequency (RF) radiation on the brain. Because mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) defects are closely associated with various nervous system diseases and mtDNA is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, the purpose of this study was to determine whether radiofrequency radiation can cause oxidative damage to mtDNA.
In this study, we exposed primary cultured cortical neurons to pulsed RF electromagnetic fields at a...
At 24h after exposure, we found that RF radiation induced a significant increase in the levels of 8-...
Together, these results suggested that 1800 MHz RF radiation could cause oxidative damage to mtDNA in primary cultured neurons. Oxidative damage to mtDNA may account for the neurotoxicity of RF radiation in the brain.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2010_exposure_to_1800_mhz_11,
author = {Xu S and Zhong M and Zhang L and Zhou Z and Zhang W and Wang Y and Wang X and Li M and Chen Y and Chen C and He M and Zhang G and Yu Z.},
title = {Exposure to 1800 MHz radiofrequency radiation induces oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA in primary cultured neurons.},
year = {2010},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006899309022999},
}