Exposure to cell phone radiation up-regulates apoptosis genes in primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes.
Zhao TY, Zou SP, Knapp PE · 2007
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation activated cell death genes in brain cells after just 2 hours, even in standby mode.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed brain cells (neurons and astrocytes) to radiation from a working GSM cell phone for just 2 hours and found that genes involved in cell death pathways became more active. The effect occurred even when the phone was on standby mode, and neurons appeared more sensitive to the radiation than astrocytes (support cells in the brain). This suggests that even brief cell phone exposure can trigger cellular stress responses in brain tissue.
Why This Matters
This study provides direct evidence that cell phone radiation can activate cell death pathways in brain cells after just 2 hours of exposure. What makes this research particularly significant is that the effects occurred not only when the phone was actively transmitting calls, but also in standby mode when phones emit lower levels of radiation. The finding that neurons showed greater sensitivity than astrocytes is concerning, given that neurons are the primary functional cells of the brain and cannot regenerate like other cell types. While this was a laboratory study using isolated cell cultures rather than living brains, it demonstrates a clear biological mechanism by which RF radiation could potentially affect brain health. The science demonstrates that our brains are not passive recipients of cell phone radiation, but actively respond to it at the cellular level.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 1900MHz Duration: 2 H
Study Details
This study investigated whether expression of genes related to cell death pathways are dysregulated in primary cultured neurons and astrocytes by exposure to a working Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) cell phone rated at a frequency of 1900MHz.
Primary cultures were exposed to cell phone emissions for 2h. We used array analysis and real-time R...
Up-regulation occurred in both "on" and "stand-by" modes in neurons, but only in "on" mode in astroc...
The results show that even relatively short-term exposure to cell phone radiofrequency emissions can up-regulate elements of apoptotic pathways in cells derived from the brain, and that neurons appear to be more sensitive to this effect than astrocytes.
Show BibTeX
@article{ty_2007_exposure_to_cell_phone_2706,
author = {Zhao TY and Zou SP and Knapp PE},
title = {Exposure to cell phone radiation up-regulates apoptosis genes in primary cultures of neurons and astrocytes.},
year = {2007},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17187929/},
}