Oxidative changes and apoptosis induced by 1800-MHz electromagnetic radiation in NIH/3T3 cells

Abstract

To investigate the potential adverse effects of mobile phone radiation, we studied reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage and apoptosis in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH/3T3) after intermittent exposure (5 min on/10 min off, for various durations from 0.5 to 8 h) to an 1800-MHz GSM-talk mode electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at an average specific absorption rate of 2 W/kg. A 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate fluorescence probe was used to detect intracellular ROS levels, immunofluorescence was used to detect γH2AX foci as a marker for DNA damage, and flow cytometry was used to measure apoptosis. Our results showed a significant increase in intracellular ROS levels after EMR exposure and it reached the highest level at an exposure time of 1 h (p < 0.05) followed by a slight decrease when the exposure continued for as long as 8 h. No significant effect on the number of γH2AX was detected after EMR exposure. The percentage of late-apoptotic cells in the EMR-exposed group was significantly higher than that in the sham-exposed groups (p < 0.05). These results indicate that an 1800-MHz EMR enhances ROS formation and promotes apoptosis in NIH/3T3 cells.

• 1800-MHz
• apoptosis
• DNA damage
• mobile phone radiation
• ROS

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Professor Zeng Yi for his instructive comments and thank Prof. Niels Kuster and Dr Manuel Murbach for providing us data about sXc-1800 exposure system. This research was supported by the National Key Basic Research Project (2011CB503705) and Beijing Municipal Education Commission Science and Technology Project (KM201310005029).

Declaration of interest

The authors confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with the paper “Oxidative Changes and Apoptosis Induced by 1800-MHz EMR in NIH/3T3 Cells” and the financial support could not influence the research results. They confirm that the manuscript has been read and approved by all named authors and there are no other persons who satisfied the criteria for authorship but not listed. They understand that the Minglian Wang and Qingxia Hou are the contacts for the editorial process. They are responsible for communicating with the other authors.