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DNA & Genetic Damage

Mitochondrial DNA damage and oxidative damage in HL-60 cells exposed to 900MHz radiofrequency fields.

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Sun Y, Zong L, Gao Z, Zhu S, Tong J, Cao Y · 2017

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HL-60 cells exposed to 900MHz RF fields at 120μW/cm² for 4 hours daily over 5 days showed mtDNA damage and oxidative damage via ROS, and melatonin reversed these effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers exposed HL-60 human leukemia cells to continuous 900MHz radiofrequency fields at 120μW/cm² for 4 hours per day over 5 consecutive days. Exposed cells had significantly increased reactive oxygen species and decreased mitochondrial transcription factor A, mtDNA polymerase gamma, mtDNA transcripts, and mtDNA copy number compared to sham-exposed controls. Exposed cells also showed a significant increase in the oxidative damage marker 8-OHdG and a significant decrease in ATP. Pretreating cells with melatonin, a free radical scavenger, reversed the effects seen in RF-exposed cells.

Why This Matters

The response in cells exposed to gamma radiation, a known ROS inducer, was similar to that in RF-exposed cells. The researchers concluded that RF exposure can induce mitochondrial DNA damage through a ROS pathway that also causes oxidative damage. The study also measured 8-OHdG as a biomarker of oxidative damage and ATP as the energy required for cellular functions.

Exposure Details

Power Density
0.12 mW/cm²
Source/Device
900MHz
Exposure Duration
4h/day for 5 consecutive days

Exposure Context

This study used 0.12 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: 0.12 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)FCC limit is 8 times higher than this level
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

HL-60 cells, derived from human promyelocytic leukemia, were exposed to continuous wave 900MHz radiofrequency fields (RF) at 120μW/cm2 power intensity for 4h/day for 5 consecutive days to examine whether such exposure is capable damaging the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mediated through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

In addition, the effect of RF exposure was examined on 8-hydroxy-2'-dexoyguanosine (8-OHdG) which i...

The results indicated a significant increase in ROS and significant decreases in mitochondrial trans...

Thus, the overall data indicated that RF exposure was capable of inducing mtDNA damage mediated through ROS pathway which also induced oxidative damage. Prior-treatment of RF- and GR-exposed the cells with melatonin, a well-known free radical scavenger, reversed the effects observed in RF-exposed cells.

Cite This Study
Sun Y, Zong L, Gao Z, Zhu S, Tong J, Cao Y (2017). Mitochondrial DNA damage and oxidative damage in HL-60 cells exposed to 900MHz radiofrequency fields. Mutat Res. 797-799:7-14, 2017.
Show BibTeX
@article{y_2017_mitochondrial_dna_damage_and_1346,
  author = {Sun Y and Zong L and Gao Z and Zhu S and Tong J and Cao Y},
  title = {Mitochondrial DNA damage and oxidative damage in HL-60 cells exposed to 900MHz radiofrequency fields.},
  year = {2017},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28340409/},
}
PubMed: 28340409

Cited By (23 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells were exposed to continuous wave 900MHz radiofrequency fields at 120μW/cm² for 4 hours per day over 5 consecutive days.
RF-exposed cells showed a significant increase in ROS and significant decreases in mitochondrial transcription factor A, mtDNA polymerase gamma, mtDNA transcripts, and mtDNA copy number compared to sham-exposed controls.
There was a significant increase in the oxidative damage marker 8-OHdG and a significant decrease in ATP in RF-exposed cells.
Pretreating the cells with melatonin, a free radical scavenger, reversed the effects observed in RF-exposed cells.
The response in positive control cells exposed to gamma radiation, which is known to induce ROS, was similar to that in RF-exposed cells.