RF Safe

Effects of radiofrequency field exposure on proteotoxic-induced and heat-induced HSF1 response in live cells using the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique

Cell stress & chaperones · 2020 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 1870

Acute exposure to a CW RF field at SAR 24 W/kg for 30 min heat-activated HSF1, but no evidence of HSF1 activation was observed under the same RF exposure when culture medium temperature was fixed. With fixed temperature, chronic 24 h RF exposure at SAR 1.5 or…

Study snapshot

PublicationCell stress & chaperones · 2020
Study typein_vitro
Reported directionMixed
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Effects of radiofrequency field exposure on proteotoxic-induced and heat-induced HSF1 response in live cells using the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique Emmanuelle Poque, Hermanus J Ruigrok, Delia Arnaud-Cormos, Denis Habauzit, Yann Chappe et al. Effects of radiofrequency field exposure on proteotoxic-induced and heat-induced HSF1 response in live cells using the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique. Cell Stress Chaperones. 2020 Oct 16. doi: 10.1007/s12192-020-01172-3. Abstract As of today, only acute effects of RF fields have been confirmed to represent a potential health hazard and they are attributed to non-specific heating (≥ 1 °C) under high-level exposure. Yet, the possibility that environmental RF impact living matter in the absence of temperature elevation needs further investigation. Since HSF1 is both a thermosensor and the master regulator of heat-shock stress response in eukaryotes, it remains to assess HSF1 activation in live cells under exposure to low-level RF signals. We thus measured basal, temperature-induced, and chemically induced HSF1 trimerization, a mandatory step on the cascade of HSF1 activation, under RF exposure to continuous wave (CW), Global System for Mobile (GSM), and Wi-Fi-modulated 1800 MHz signals, using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique (BRET) probe. Our results show that, as expected, HSF1 is heat-activated by acute exposure of transiently transfected HEK293T cells to a CW RF field at a specific absorption rate of 24 W/kg for 30 min. However, we found no evidence of HSF1 activation under the same RF exposure condition when the cell culture medium temperature was fixed. We also found no experimental evidence that, at a fixed temperature, chronic RF exposure for 24 h at a SAR of 1.5 and 6 W/kg altered the potency or the maximal capability of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 to activate HSF1, whatever signal used. We only found that RF exposure to CW signals (1.5 and 6 W/kg) and GSM signals (1.5 W/kg) for 24 h marginally decreased basal HSF1 activity. 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
PopulationTransiently transfected HEK293T live cells
Sample sizeNot supplied
ExposureRF · 1800 MHz · 24 W/kg · 30 min (acute) and 24 h (chronic)
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Acute exposure to a CW RF field at SAR 24 W/kg for 30 min heat-activated HSF1, but no evidence of HSF1 activation was observed under the same RF exposure when culture medium temperature was fixed. With fixed temperature, chronic 24 h RF exposure at SAR 1.5 or 6 W/kg (CW, GSM, Wi‑Fi-modulated) did not alter MG132-induced HSF1 activation; CW (1.5 and 6 W/kg) and GSM (1.5 W/kg) for 24 h marginally decreased basal HSF1 activity.

Outcomes measured

  • HSF1 trimerization (BRET probe)
  • Basal HSF1 activity
  • Temperature-induced HSF1 activation
  • Chemically induced HSF1 activation by proteasome inhibitor MG132 (potency and maximal capability)

Limitations

  • Sample size not reported in abstract
  • Cell culture (HEK293T) model; generalizability to humans not addressed in abstract
  • Temperature control details and magnitude of the reported 'marginal' decrease not quantified in abstract
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "in_vitro",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "CW, GSM, and Wi‑Fi-modulated signals (1800 MHz)",
    "frequency_mhz": 1800,
    "sar_wkg": 24,
    "duration": "30 min (acute) and 24 h (chronic)"
  },
  "population": "Transiently transfected HEK293T live cells",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "HSF1 trimerization (BRET probe)",
    "Basal HSF1 activity",
    "Temperature-induced HSF1 activation",
    "Chemically induced HSF1 activation by proteasome inhibitor MG132 (potency and maximal capability)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Acute exposure to a CW RF field at SAR 24 W/kg for 30 min heat-activated HSF1, but no evidence of HSF1 activation was observed under the same RF exposure when culture medium temperature was fixed. With fixed temperature, chronic 24 h RF exposure at SAR 1.5 or 6 W/kg (CW, GSM, Wi‑Fi-modulated) did not alter MG132-induced HSF1 activation; CW (1.5 and 6 W/kg) and GSM (1.5 W/kg) for 24 h marginally decreased basal HSF1 activity.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in abstract",
    "Cell culture (HEK293T) model; generalizability to humans not addressed in abstract",
    "Temperature control details and magnitude of the reported 'marginal' decrease not quantified in abstract"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "radiofrequency",
    "RF",
    "1800 MHz",
    "GSM",
    "Wi‑Fi",
    "continuous wave",
    "SAR",
    "HSF1",
    "heat-shock response",
    "HSF1 trimerization",
    "BRET",
    "HEK293T",
    "MG132",
    "proteotoxic stress"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "cell-stress-heat-shock",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study measures HSF1 (heat-shock factor 1) activation/trimerization under RF exposure and heat/proteotoxic stress."
    },
    {
      "slug": "mobile-telephony-rf",
      "weight": 0.6,
      "reason": "Includes GSM-modulated 1800 MHz exposure."
    },
    {
      "slug": "wifi-rf",
      "weight": 0.5,
      "reason": "Includes Wi‑Fi-modulated 1800 MHz exposure."
    }
  ]
}
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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: 10.1007/s12192-020-01172-3
PubMed: 33067759

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