Abstract
Radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) is used globally in conjunction with mobile communications. There are public concerns of the perceived deleterious biological consequences of RF-EMF exposure. This study assessed neuronal effects of RF-EMF on the cerebral cortex of the mouse brain as a proxy for cranial exposure during mobile phone use. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 835 MHz RF-EMF at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4.0 W/kg for 5 hours/day during 12 weeks. The aim was to examine activation of autophagy pathway in the cerebral cortex, a brain region that is located relatively externally. Induction of autophagy genes and production of proteins including LC3B-II and Beclin1 were increased and accumulation of autolysosome was observed in neuronal cell bodies. However, proapoptotic factor Bax was down-regulted in the cerebral cortex. Importantly, we found that RF-EMF exposure led to myelin sheath damage and mice displayed hyperactivity-like behaviour. The data suggest that autophagy may act as a protective pathway for the neuronal cell bodies in the cerebral cortex during radiofrequency exposure. The observations that neuronal cell bodies remained structurally stable but demyelination was induced in cortical neurons following prolonged RF-EMF suggests a potential cause of neurological or neurobehavioural disorders.
Highlights
Wireless mobile phone communication is globally ubiquitous and popular
There was no significant difference between the control and RM-EMF groups (Fig. 1a)
Total distance moved, and total duration movement were monitored for 30 minutes, with data presented as cumulative total values of each parameter
Summary
Wireless mobile phone communication is globally ubiquitous and popular. There have long been concerns regarding possible adverse biologically-related health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF). Epidemiologic studies have linked RF-EMF exposure from mobile phones with neurological and cognitive dysfunctions[9,10,11]. The mouse cortex has a smooth surface, while that of humans is folder rather like a walnut[23] It is a highly-developed region of the human brain that processes most of the actual information, including sensory functions, such as hearing, touch, vision, smell, and movement, as well as cognitive functions, such as thought, perception, memory-related problem solving, and understanding language[24,25]. RF-EMF exposure of the human cerebral cortex reportedly causes physiological alterations in blood flow and increases glucose metabolism[29,30]. Information of phenotypes or symptoms following EMF exposure is still lacking even though some of studies have been reported with respect to electromagnetic hypersensitivity following EMF exposure[32,33]
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