# WEB-029 — 60.4 GHz: changes in substances released by skin cells Why this matters What a cell releases can reveal responses that a gene-expression assay misses. These researchers found marked changes outside exposed skin cells and proposed altered membrane permeability as an explanation. That explanation remains a hypothesis, with an important difference in the timing of the controls. Id: WEB-029 Author: Le Pogam et al. Full Authors: Pierre Le Pogam; Yann Le Page; Denis Habauzit; Mickael Doué; Maxim Zhadobov; Ronan Sauleau; Yves Le Dréan; David Rondeau Year: 2019 Title: Untargeted metabolomics unveil alterations of biomembranes permeability in human HaCaT keratinocytes upon 60 GHz millimeter-wave exposure Journal: Scientific reports Citation: Pierre Le Pogam; Yann Le Page; Denis Habauzit; Mickael Doué; Maxim Zhadobov; Ronan Sauleau; Yves Le Dréan; David Rondeau. Untargeted metabolomics unveil alterations of biomembranes permeability in human HaCaT keratinocytes upon 60 GHz millimeter-wave exposure. Scientific reports. 2019. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45662-6. Doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-45662-6 Pmid: 31249327 Topic: 60 GHz-region biological responses; Membrane permeability; Metabolomic responses Verification Group: Original text reviewed Record Role: Original text reviewed Featured: False Exposure: 60.4 GHz, 20 mW/cm² for 24 h; temperature, pH and humidity controlled. Design: HaCaT keratinocytes; intracellular/extracellular metabolomics and lipidomics with exposed and non-exposed samples. Finding: Extracellular metabolomic profiles contained 111 and 99 altered features in positive/negative ion modes; intracellular and lipid changes were much smaller. Statistics: See the original results; effect sizes were not independently recalculated. Boundary: Membrane permeability was inferred, not directly demonstrated. Control cultures were run one day apart. Subcellular thermal changes could not be excluded; many metabolite identities remained tentative. Related: Rennes skin-cell programme, including WEB-019 and the pulsed-heating study. Protection Question: Which exposure conditions reproduce this finding, and what would establish its relevance beyond the experimental model? Access: Original methods/results and interpretation reviewed; raw data and supplements were not independently audited. Locator: Original methods and results Notice: Linked Europe PMC/PubMed notice fields checked 21 October 2026; no correction/retraction surfaced for this record. Publisher/citation screening is not exhaustive. Funding: Reported funder(s): https://doi.org/10.13039/501100007546 Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail (ANSES). Grant identifiers: BEMAM n° EST-2014/2 RF/012. Conflicts: See original disclosure; no independently verified conflict assessment. Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45662-6 Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45662-6 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31249327/ | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6597695/ Verification Date: 2026-10-21 Discovery Id: TARGETED-20261021-02 Technology Tracks: wigig|millimetre Technology Connection: 60 GHz-region or adjacent-band biology; not an experiment with a WiGig device and not evidence of an oxygen-deprivation mechanism. Publication Type: Original journal research Study Setting: Cells / isolated tissue Browse Categories: cells