Immune Responses to Multi-Frequencies of 1.5 GHz and 4.3 GHz Microwave Exposure in Rats: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis

2022 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 755

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2022

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Immune Responses to Multi-Frequencies of 1.5 GHz and 4.3 GHz Microwave Exposure in Rats: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis Zhao L, Yao C, Wang H, Dong J, Zhang J, Xu X, Wang H, Yao B, Ren K, Sun L, Peng R. Immune Responses to Multi- Frequencies of 1.5 GHz and 4.3 GHz Microwave Exposure in Rats: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 22;23(13):6949. doi: 10.3390/ijms23136949. Abstract With the rapidly increasing application of microwave technologies, the anxiety and speculation about microwave induced potential health hazards has been attracting more and more attention. In our daily life, people are exposed to complex environments with multi-frequency microwaves, especially L band and C band microwaves, which are commonly used in communications. In this study, we exposed rats to 1.5 GHz (L10), 4.3 GHz (C10) or multi-frequency (LC10) microwaves at an average power density of 10 mW/cm2. Both single and multi-frequency microwaves induced slight pathological changes in the thymus and spleen. Additionally, the white blood cells (WBCs) and lymphocytes in peripheral blood were decreased at 6 h and 7 d after exposure, suggesting immune suppressive responses were induced. Among lymphocytes, the B lymphocytes were increased while the T lymphocytes were decreased at 7 d after exposure in the C10 and LC10 groups, but not in the L10 group. Moreover, multi-frequency microwaves regulated the B and T lymphocytes more strongly than the C band microwave. The results of transcriptomics and proteomics showed that both single and multi-frequency microwaves regulated numerous genes associated with immune regulation and cellular metabolism in peripheral blood and in the spleen. However, multi-frequency microwaves altered the expression of many more genes and proteins. Moreover, multi-frequency microwaves down-regulated T lymphocytes' development, differentiation and activation-associated genes, while they up-regulated B lymphocytes' activation-related genes. In conclusion, multi-frequency microwaves of 1.5 GHz and 4.3 GHz produced immune suppressive responses via regulating immune regulation and cellular metabolism-associated genes. Our findings provide meaningful information for exploring potential mechanisms underlying multi-frequency induced immune suppression. Open access paper: mdpi.com

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationRats

Sample sizeNot supplied

Exposuremicrowave

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Rats exposed to 1.5 GHz, 4.3 GHz, or combined multi-frequency microwaves at an average power density of 10 mW/cm2 showed slight pathological changes in thymus and spleen. WBCs and lymphocytes decreased at 6 h and 7 d post-exposure; at 7 d, B lymphocytes increased and T lymphocytes decreased in the 4.3 GHz and multi-frequency groups. Transcriptomic/proteomic analyses indicated regulation of numerous immune regulation and cellular metabolism genes/proteins, with more changes in the multi-frequency group; multi-frequency exposure down-regulated T-lymphocyte development/differentiation/activation genes and up-regulated B-lymphocyte activation genes.

Outcomes measured

Thymus pathology
Spleen pathology
White blood cell count (WBC)
Peripheral blood lymphocyte counts
B lymphocyte levels
T lymphocyte levels
Transcriptomic changes in peripheral blood and spleen
Proteomic changes in peripheral blood and spleen
Immune regulation and cellular metabolism gene/protein expression

Limitations

Exposure duration not reported in abstract
Sample size not reported in abstract
Specific transcriptomic/proteomic methods and statistical details not reported in abstract
Power density reported, but SAR not reported in abstract

View raw extracted JSON

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  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
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  },
  "population": "Rats",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Thymus pathology",
    "Spleen pathology",
    "White blood cell count (WBC)",
    "Peripheral blood lymphocyte counts",
    "B lymphocyte levels",
    "T lymphocyte levels",
    "Transcriptomic changes in peripheral blood and spleen",
    "Proteomic changes in peripheral blood and spleen",
    "Immune regulation and cellular metabolism gene/protein expression"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to 1.5 GHz, 4.3 GHz, or combined multi-frequency microwaves at an average power density of 10 mW/cm2 showed slight pathological changes in thymus and spleen. WBCs and lymphocytes decreased at 6 h and 7 d post-exposure; at 7 d, B lymphocytes increased and T lymphocytes decreased in the 4.3 GHz and multi-frequency groups. Transcriptomic/proteomic analyses indicated regulation of numerous immune regulation and cellular metabolism genes/proteins, with more changes in the multi-frequency group; multi-frequency exposure down-regulated T-lymphocyte development/differentiation/activation genes and up-regulated B-lymphocyte activation genes.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Exposure duration not reported in abstract",
    "Sample size not reported in abstract",
    "Specific transcriptomic/proteomic methods and statistical details not reported in abstract",
    "Power density reported, but SAR not reported in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "microwave exposure",
    "multi-frequency",
    "1.5 GHz",
    "4.3 GHz",
    "L band",
    "C band",
    "rats",
    "immune suppression",
    "thymus",
    "spleen",
    "white blood cells",
    "lymphocytes",
    "B cells",
    "T cells",
    "transcriptomics",
    "proteomics"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
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}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.3390/ijms23136949
PubMed: Not supplied

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