# WEB-038 — 27.5 GHz: early-life skin signalling and mast-cell responses

Why this matters
A tissue can respond without showing visible damage. In young mice, prolonged exposure changed several signals involved in skin immunity and sensory regulation. Those findings deserve follow-up, especially across developmental stages, without turning the measured changes into a diagnosis of inflammatory disease.

Id: WEB-038

Author: Palone et al.

Full Authors: Francesca Palone; Emiliano Fratini; Flavia Novelli; Simona Leonardi; Ilaria De Stefano; Emanuela Pasquali; Mirella Tanori; Rosanna Pinto; Lucia Ardoino; Alessandro Zambotti; Francesca Camera; Marta Piscitelli; Caterina Merla; Simonetta Pazzaglia; Myles Capstick; Theodoros Samaras; Mariateresa Mancuso

Year: 2026

Title: Early-life exposure to 27.5 GHz 5G millimeter-wave radiation induces skin-related biological responses in mice

Journal: Scientific reports

Citation: Francesca Palone; Emiliano Fratini; Flavia Novelli; Simona Leonardi; Ilaria De Stefano; Emanuela Pasquali; Mirella Tanori; Rosanna Pinto; Lucia Ardoino; Alessandro Zambotti; Francesca Camera; Marta Piscitelli; Caterina Merla; Simonetta Pazzaglia; Myles Capstick; Theodoros Samaras; Mariateresa Mancuso. Early-life exposure to 27.5 GHz 5G millimeter-wave radiation induces skin-related biological responses in mice. Scientific reports. 2026. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-57133-w.

Doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-57133-w

Pmid: 42260123

Topic: Skin immune signalling; Mast-cell responses; Developmental susceptibility; Millimetre-wave cellular responses

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: False

Exposure: 27.5 GHz, 5G-generated signal; 6.67 or 20 W/m² during ON periods; 10 min ON/5 min OFF, 23 h/day from birth to day 21.

Design: Ptch1-heterozygous and wild-type CD1 mice; sham chamber, skin histology, transcriptional assays, glutamate and mast-cell assessment.

Finding: Inflammation-related transcripts and mast-cell degranulation increased; some sensory transcripts and wild-type cutaneous glutamate decreased. No overt histological abnormality or growth impairment.

Statistics: See the original results; effect sizes were not independently recalculated.

Boundary: Single developmental time point; multiple exploratory endpoints and litter/chamber clustering warrant care. No demonstrated skin disease, persistent effect or satellite exposure.

Related: SEAWave/ENEA programme; companion adult reproduction paper uses a different exposure cohort. Related publication records: WEB-039.

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: European Union Horizon Europe, SEAWave grant 101057622.

Conflicts: Authors report no competing interests/conflicts; declaration checked, not independently audited.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-57133-w

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-57133-w | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42260123/ | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13490480/

Verification Date: 2026-10-21

Discovery Id: TARGETED-20261021-11

Technology Tracks: 5g|satellite|millimetre

Technology Connection: 27.5 GHz is relevant to 5G high-band research and overlaps a satellite uplink band. These are laboratory animal exposures, not a satellite-system experiment.

Publication Type: Original journal research

Study Setting: Animals

Browse Categories: cells