Quality Matters: Systematic Analysis of Endpoints Related to “Cellular Life” in Vitro Data of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field Exposure

Abstract

Possible hazardous effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) at low exposure levels are controversially discussed due to inconsistent study findings. Therefore, the main focus of the present study is to detect if any statistical association exists between RF-EMF and cellular responses, considering cell proliferation and apoptosis endpoints separately and with both combined as a group of “cellular life” to increase the statistical power of the analysis. We searched for publications regarding RF-EMF in vitro studies in the PubMed database for the period 1995–2014 and extracted the data to the relevant parameters, such as cell culture type, frequency, exposure duration, SAR, and five exposure-related quality criteria. These parameters were used for an association study with the experimental outcome in terms of the defined endpoints. We identified 104 published articles, from which 483 different experiments were extracted and analyzed. Cellular responses after exposure to RF-EMF were significantly associated to cell lines rather than to primary cells. No other experimental parameter was significantly associated with cellular responses. A highly significant negative association with exposure condition-quality and cellular responses was detected, showing that the more the quality criteria requirements were satisfied, the smaller the number of detected cellular responses. According to our knowledge, this is the first systematic analysis of specific RF-EMF bio-effects in association to exposure quality, highlighting the need for more stringent quality procedures for the exposure conditions.

Assessment of Genotoxicity in Human Cells Exposed to Modulated Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communication Devices

“…While EMFs used in wireless communication devices (wEMF) have been reported to affect various aspects of cell physiology, including the integrity of the genetic material [4][5][6][7][8], the underlying experimental evidence has been a subject of controversy both in the scientific community and in the public. Indeed, the exposure-related effects are often at the borderline of methodological sensitivity and statistical significance and, therefore, challenging to reproduce in independent settings [8,9]. Nevertheless, evidence for an impact of wEMFs on genome integrity should be carefully investigated, as this may indicate a mutagenic potential, which, even if minor, may be associated with an increased risk of cancer or degenerative human diseases.The impact of environmental agents on DNA integrity can be assessed in different ways.…”

Comments on the “Evaluation of the Genotoxicity of Cell Phone Radiofrequency Radiation in Male and Female Rats and Mice Following Subchronic Exposure” by Smith‐Roe et al.

“…Second, "blind" analysis was not mentioned for MN indices. Previous publications have reported that the biological/genetic damage investigations have significantly greater likelihood of reporting (presumably incorrectly) positive effects of RF exposure when positive controls and blind analyses were not included in the experimental protocol (Simko et al, 2016;Vijayalaxmi and Prohoda, 2019). The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks included these as minimum requirements to ensure that the quality of the data that are collected are useful for health risk assessment from RF exposure (SCENIHR, 2015).…”

Mobile phones: carcinogenic and other potential risks

“…If in doubt, it can be tested in large-scale animal experiments under controlled exposure conditions to exclude biases and conflicts of interest. The accurate control of the exposure and experimental procedures is crucial [23]. As for the regulations, strictly observed realistic safety norms are more helpful for the public health than excessive restrictions that would be disregarded.…”

“…However, in view of the lack of verification of any proposed non-thermal interaction mechanism, established knowledge does not suggest RF-EMF effects accumulating with time [22]. In particular, no correlations between exposure duration and cellular responses in vitro were found [23]. People using mobile phones the longest (>10 years) and accumulating the highest lifetime call hours might be expected to have the highest risk.…”