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Effects of different mobile phone UMTS signals on DNA, apoptosis and oxidative stress in human lymphocytes

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2020 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1474

Human lymphocytes were exposed to UMTS (3G) signals at 1923, 1947.47, and 1977 MHz for 1 h and 3 h. No effects were observed on ROS, apoptosis, PFG, or TP53 mutations regardless of frequency, while a relatively small but statistically significant increase in …

Study snapshot

PublicationEnvironmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2020
Study typein_vitro
Reported directionMixed
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effects of different mobile phone UMTS signals on DNA, apoptosis and oxidative stress in human lymphocytes Sachin Gulati, Pavol Kosik, Matus Durdik, Milan Skorvaga, Lukas Jakl, Eva Markova, Igor Belyaev. Effects of different mobile phone UMTS signals on DNA, apoptosis and oxidative stress in human lymphocytes. Environ Pollut. 2020 Dec;267:115632. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115632. Highlights • Comparatively analyzed genotoxic effects of UMTS signals at different frequency. • Significant role of UMTS carrier frequency (1977 MHz) in inducing DNA damage. • No association of UMTS exposure with apoptosis, TP53 mutations and PFG induction. • Prolonged exposure to microwave radiation may induce genotoxic effects. Abstract Different scientific reports suggested a link between exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RF) from mobile communications and induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage while other studies have not found such a link. However, the available studies are not directly comparable because they were performed at different parameters of exposure, including carrier frequency of RF signal, which was shown to be critical for appearance of the RF effects. For the first time, we comparatively analyzed genotoxic effects of UMTS signals at different frequency channels used by 3G mobile phones (1923, 1947.47, and 1977 MHz). Genotoxicity was examined in human lymphocytes exposed to RF for 1 h and 3 h using complimentary endpoints such as induction of ROS by imaging flow cytometry, DNA damage by alkaline comet assay, mutations in TP53 gene by RSM assay, preleukemic fusion genes (PFG) by RT-qPCR, and apoptosis by flow cytometry. No effects of RF exposure on ROS, apoptosis, PFG, and mutations in TP53 gene were revealed regardless of the UMTS frequency while inhibition of a bulk RNA expression was found. On the other hand, we found relatively small but statistically significant induction of DNA damage in dependence on UMTS frequency channel with maximal effect at 1977.0 MHz. Our data support a notion that each specific signal used in mobile communication should be tested in specially designed experiments to rule out that prolonged exposure to RF from mobile communication would induce genotoxic effects and affect the health of the human population. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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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 typein_vitro
Effect directionmixed
PopulationHuman lymphocytes
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF · 1 h and 3 h
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Human lymphocytes were exposed to UMTS (3G) signals at 1923, 1947.47, and 1977 MHz for 1 h and 3 h. No effects were observed on ROS, apoptosis, PFG, or TP53 mutations regardless of frequency, while a relatively small but statistically significant increase in DNA damage was reported depending on UMTS frequency channel, with the maximal effect at 1977.0 MHz; inhibition of bulk RNA expression was also found.

Outcomes measured

  • Reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • DNA damage (alkaline comet assay)
  • TP53 gene mutations
  • Preleukemic fusion genes (PFG)
  • Apoptosis
  • Bulk RNA expression (inhibition)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1 h and 3 h"
  },
  "population": "Human lymphocytes",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Reactive oxygen species (ROS)",
    "DNA damage (alkaline comet assay)",
    "TP53 gene mutations",
    "Preleukemic fusion genes (PFG)",
    "Apoptosis",
    "Bulk RNA expression (inhibition)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Human lymphocytes were exposed to UMTS (3G) signals at 1923, 1947.47, and 1977 MHz for 1 h and 3 h. No effects were observed on ROS, apoptosis, PFG, or TP53 mutations regardless of frequency, while a relatively small but statistically significant increase in DNA damage was reported depending on UMTS frequency channel, with the maximal effect at 1977.0 MHz; inhibition of bulk RNA expression was also found.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "UMTS",
    "3G",
    "mobile phone",
    "radiofrequency radiation",
    "human lymphocytes",
    "DNA damage",
    "comet assay",
    "ROS",
    "oxidative stress",
    "apoptosis",
    "TP53",
    "preleukemic fusion genes"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "rf-mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "In vitro study of UMTS (3G) mobile phone signal exposures and biological endpoints including DNA damage."
    }
  ]
}
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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: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115632
PubMed: 33254645

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