RF Safe

Effect of cell phone-like electromagnetic radiation on primary human thyroid cells

2016 · No effect · Low evidence

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No effectLow evidencePaper 1394

Across the irradiation conditions tested, RF exposure had no observed effect on Ki-67 proliferation marker staining, p53 expression, DNA ploidy, or the stress biomarkers HSP70 and ROS in primary human thyroid cells.

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2016
Study typein_vitro
Reported directionNo effect
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effect of cell phone-like electromagnetic radiation on primary human thyroid cells Silva V, Hilly O, Strenov Y, Tzabari C, Hauptman Y, Feinmesser R. Effect of cell phone-like electromagnetic radiation on primary human thyroid cells. Int J Radiat Biol. 2016;92(2):107-15. doi: 10.3109/09553002.2016.1117678. Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential carcinogenic effects of radiofrequency energy (RFE) emitted by cell phones on human thyroid primary cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary thyroid cell culture was prepared from normal thyroid tissue obtained from patients who underwent surgery at our department. Subconfluent thyroid cells were irradiated under different conditions inside a cell incubator using a device that simulates cell phone-RFE. Proliferation of control and irradiated cells was assessed by the immunohistochemical staining of antigen Kiel clone-67 (Ki-67) and tumor suppressor p53 (p53) expression. DNA ploidy and the stress biomarkers heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evaluated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). RESULTS: Our cells highly expressed thyroglobulin (Tg) and sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) confirming the origin of the tissue. None of the irradiation conditions evaluated here had an effect neither on the proliferation marker Ki-67 nor on p53 expression. DNA ploidy was also not affected by RFE, as well as the expression of the biomarkers HSP70 and ROS. CONCLUSION: Our conditions of RFE exposure seem to have no potential carcinogenic effect on human thyroid cells. Moreover, common biomarkers usually associated to environmental stress also remained unchanged. We failed to find an association between cell phone-RFE and thyroid cancer. Additional studies are recommended. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Note: This study did not expose the cell samples to cell phone radiation. The RFE exposure in this simulation did not resemble cell phone radiation. "Subconfluent thyroid cells were irradiated ... using a device consisting of a Radio Frequency (RF) generator (Fluke 60602A, manufactured by Fluke, Everett, WA) and an RF power amplifier (EMPower 7044, Holbrook, NY). The RF generator, located outside the incubator, was set to the desired power and connected to the power amplifier, which was connected to a panel antenna that was fixed inside the incubator." "... an antenna was placed inside the cell incubator and set at 900 or 895 MHz and 80 or 210 μW/cm2 to simulate the radiation emitted by mobile phones."

Machine Enhanced Logic

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 typein_vitro
Effect directionno_effect
PopulationPrimary human thyroid cells cultured from normal thyroid tissue obtained from surgery patients
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF · 900 MHz
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Across the irradiation conditions tested, RF exposure had no observed effect on Ki-67 proliferation marker staining, p53 expression, DNA ploidy, or the stress biomarkers HSP70 and ROS in primary human thyroid cells.

Outcomes measured

  • Cell proliferation (Ki-67 immunohistochemistry)
  • Tumor suppressor p53 expression
  • DNA ploidy (FACS)
  • Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression (FACS)
  • Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (FACS)
  • Thyroglobulin (Tg) expression (cell origin confirmation)
  • Sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) expression (cell origin confirmation)

Limitations

  • In vitro primary cell culture model; findings may not generalize to in vivo thyroid tissue or cancer risk
  • Exposure described as a simulation using an RF generator/amplifier and panel antenna; details such as exposure duration and SAR were not provided in the abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone (simulated RF exposure device)",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Primary human thyroid cells cultured from normal thyroid tissue obtained from surgery patients",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Cell proliferation (Ki-67 immunohistochemistry)",
    "Tumor suppressor p53 expression",
    "DNA ploidy (FACS)",
    "Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression (FACS)",
    "Reactive oxygen species (ROS) (FACS)",
    "Thyroglobulin (Tg) expression (cell origin confirmation)",
    "Sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) expression (cell origin confirmation)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Across the irradiation conditions tested, RF exposure had no observed effect on Ki-67 proliferation marker staining, p53 expression, DNA ploidy, or the stress biomarkers HSP70 and ROS in primary human thyroid cells.",
  "effect_direction": "no_effect",
  "limitations": [
    "In vitro primary cell culture model; findings may not generalize to in vivo thyroid tissue or cancer risk",
    "Exposure described as a simulation using an RF generator/amplifier and panel antenna; details such as exposure duration and SAR were not provided in the abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency energy",
    "cell phone-like",
    "thyroid",
    "primary human cells",
    "in vitro",
    "900 MHz",
    "Ki-67",
    "p53",
    "DNA ploidy",
    "HSP70",
    "ROS"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones-rf",
      "weight": 0.86,
      "reason": "Study evaluates simulated cell phone-like RF exposure (900/895 MHz) on human thyroid cells."
    }
  ]
}
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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: 10.3109/09553002.2016.1117678
PubMed: Not supplied

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