Immune responses of a wall lizard to whole-body exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation

Abstract

Purpose During the last three decades, the number of devices that emit non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at the wireless communication spectrum has rapidly increased and possible effects on living organisms have become a major concern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of radiofrequency EMR emitted by a widely used wireless communication device, namely the Digital Enhanced Communication Telephony (DECT) base, on the immune responses of the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii).

Materials and methods Adult male lizards were exposed 24 h/day for 8 weeks to 1880–1900 MHz DECT base radiation at average electric field intensity of 3.2 V/m. Immune reactivity was assessed using the phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin swelling and mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) tests.

Results Our results revealed a noticeable suppression (approximately 45%) of inflammatory responses in EMR-exposed lizards compared to sham-exposed animals. T cell-mediated responses were marginally affected.

Conclusion Daily radiofrequency EMR exposure seems to affect, at least partially, the immunocompetence of the Aegean wall lizard.

Keywords:

• Non-ionizing radiation
• inflammation
• skin
• immunology
• reptiles

Acknowledgements

This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund [ESF]) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) – Research Funding Program: THALES. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund. UoA – MIS 375784: “Biological effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields: a multidisciplinary approach” grant coordinated by L.H. Margaritis.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.