# RF-009 — Oxidative stress and reduced growth in human cell cultures

Why this matters
Human cells grown in the laboratory showed chemical stress and multiplied less readily during prolonged LTE exposure. They also showed signs of senescence, a state of arrested cell growth. Whether such responses can impair normal tissue function remains unresolved; the study did not demonstrate disease in people.

Id: RF-009

Author: Choi and Min et al.

Full Authors: Jisu Choi; Kyeongrae Min; Sangbong Jeon; Nam Kim; Jeong-Ki Pack; Kiwon Song

Year: 2020

Title: Continuous Exposure to 1.7 GHz LTE Electromagnetic Fields Increases Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species to Decrease Human Cell Proliferation and Induce Senescence

Journal: scientific reports

Citation: Choi J, Min K, Jeon S, Kim N, Pack JK, Song K. Continuous Exposure to 1.7 GHz LTE Electromagnetic Fields Increases Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species to Decrease Human Cell Proliferation and Induce Senescence. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1):9238. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65732-4.

Doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65732-4

Pmid: 32514068

Topic: DNA and cell responses

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: True

Exposure: 1.7 GHz LTE; culture SAR 1 or 2 W/kg; 72 hours.

Design: Several human cell types; generally at least three independent experiments; calibrated radial-transmission exposure system and refrigerated water cooling.

Finding: Continuous 72-h LTE exposure reduced proliferation across normal and cancer-derived human cultures. ROS and senescence increased; antioxidant NAC partly restored proliferation. Assayed DNA-double-strand-break and apoptotic markers did not increase.

Boundary: Culture response, not clinical injury. Proliferation inhibition in cancer and normal cells has different implications. Culture SAR is not a human compliance test. Experimental blinding was not established in the retrieved text.

Related: Separate Korean research network from Newcastle sperm work.

Protection Question: Could persistent cellular stress and arrested growth impair normal tissue function? The different responses of normal and cancer cells, and the unchanged measured DNA-break and apoptosis markers, constrain a general injury claim.

Access: Original indexed results/methods and figure captions rechecked; publisher funding disclosure located

Locator: Results and Figures 3-8; Materials and Methods exposure calibration; Acknowledgements

Notice: Primary PubMed linked-notice record checked 20 Oct 2026; no correction, concern or retraction linked at check. This is not an exhaustive publisher-history certification.

Funding: Korean NRF Bio and Medical Technology Development Program NRF-2016M3A9C6918275; Korea Mobile EMF consortium; Choi partially supported by BK21 PLUS.

Conflicts: Not established from retrieved disclosure material.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65732-4

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65732-4 | https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65732-4 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32514068/

Verification Date: 2026-10-20