title: Effects of 2.4 GHz radiofrequency radiation emitted from Wi-Fi equipment on microRNA expression in brain tissue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  MicroRNAs (miRNA) play a paramount role in growth, differentiation, proliferation and cell death by suppressing one or more target genes. However, their interaction with radiofrequencies is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of radiofrequency radiation emitted from a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) system on some of the miRNA in brain tissue.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was carried out on 16 Wistar Albino adult male rats by dividing them into two groups such as sham (n = 8) and exposure (n = 8). Rats in the exposure group were exposed to 2.4 GHz radiofrequency (RF) radiation for 24 hours a day for 12 months (one year). The same procedure was applied to the rats in the sham group except the Wi-Fi system was turned off. Immediately after the last exposure, rats were sacrificed and their brains were removed. miR-9-5p, miR-29a-3p, miR-106b-5p, miR-107, miR-125a-3p in brain were investigated in detail.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that long-term exposure of 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radiation can alter expression of some of the miRNAs such as miR-106b-5p (adj p* = 0.010) and miR-107 (adj p* = 0.005). We observed that mir 107 expression is 3.3 times and miR- 106b-5p expression is 3.65 times lower in the exposure group than in the control group. However, miR-9-5p, miR-29a-3p and miR-125a-3p levels in brain were not altered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure of 2.4 GHz RF may lead to adverse effects such as neurodegenerative diseases originated from the alteration of some miRNA expression and more studies should be devoted to the effects of RF radiation on miRNA expression levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, Medical School of Dicle University , Diyarbakir , Turkey.
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dasdag
authors.forename: Mehmet Zulkuf
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Akdag
authors.forename: Mehmet Emin
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Erdal
authors.forename: Nurten
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Erdal
authors.forename: Ozlem Izci
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Ay
authors.forename: Mustafa Ertan
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ay
authors.forename: Senay Gorucu
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Bahar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tasdelen
authors.forename: Korkut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yegin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D011846:Radio Waves / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000528:radiation effects*; D059015:Wireless Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: 2.4 GHz radiofrequency; Wi-Fi; diseases; electromagnetic fields; miRNA in brain