WEB-051Original text reviewed
Prenatal 3.5 GHz exposure: kidney findings six months later
The reported finding
Exposed offspring showed renal structural changes, increased Beclin-1/LC3 staining and greater DNA fragmentation, strongest after whole-gestation exposure.
Reading it carefully
Small animal experiment; prenatal dosimetry and thermal conditions limit extrapolation. Autophagy-marker expression does not establish autophagic flux. Relationship to the earlier reproductive cohort is not established.
Inside the study
Technology connection
Relevant carrier-frequency research; the record distinguishes actual 5G modulation from other laboratory waveforms.
Publication type
Original journal research
Exposure conditions
3.5 GHz, 2 h/day during all or the final two weeks of gestation; uterine peak spatial SAR 0.06622 W/kg (1 g), 0.03825 W/kg (10 g).
Design & controls
Twenty-four dams, eight/group; one male offspring/litter at six months; blinded histology, immunostaining and comet assay.
Statistics
See the original results; effect sizes were not independently recalculated.
Related research & shared cohorts
Istanbul Medeniyet/Van programme with RF-044; shared authors/exposure approach, not established independent replication.
The protection question raised
Which exposure conditions reproduce this finding, and what would establish its relevance beyond the experimental model?
Source verification
Original methods/results and interpretation reviewed; raw data and supplements were not independently audited.
Where to find the result
Original methods and results
Editorial notices
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): Istanbul Medeniyet University.
Conflicts of interest
See original disclosure; no independently verified conflict assessment.
Original publication
Elif Gelenli Dolanbay; Fazile Canturk Tan; Hava Bektas; Sumeyye Koc; Salih Varol; Omer Kilic; Unal Uslu; Suleyman Dasdag. Prenatal 3.5 GHz radiofrequency exposure induces renal histological changes and DNA damage in 6-month-old rats. Histochemistry and cell biology. 2026. doi:10.1007/s00418-026-02504-7.