TP53 tumor suppressor protein in normal human fibroblasts does not respond to 837 MHz microwave exposure.
The TP53 tumor suppressor protein (formerly known as p53) responds to a wide variety of environmental insults. To evaluate the safety of cellular telephones, TP53 responses in human fibroblast cells were studied after exposure to 837 MHz microwaves. Cells were exposed in a temperature-controlled transverse electromagnetic (TEM) chamber to a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.9 or 9.0 W/kg at 837 MHz continuous-wave (CW) microwave irradiation for 2 h. The TP53 protein levels were measured by Western blot at 2, 8, 24 and 48 h after treatment. The TP53 protein levels in microwave-treated cells, sham-treated cells, and untreated cells remained unchanged relative to each other at all times tested (Fisher test and Student-Newman-Keuls test, P > 0.05). No morphological alterations were observed in microwave-treated cells compared to sham-treated cells. We conclude that TP53 protein expression levels in cultured human fibroblast cells do not change significantly during a 48-h period after exposure to 837 MHz continuous microwaves for 2 h at SAR levels of 0.9 or 9.0 W/kg.
Li
J R
JR
Department of Radiation Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California 91010, USA.
Chou
C K
CK
McDougall
J A
JA
Dasgupta
G
G
Wu
H H
HH
Ren
R L
RL
Lee
A
A
Han
J
J
Momand
J
J
D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D008872:Microwaves; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis*
D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53