Effects of mobile phone electromagnetic radiation on rat hippocampus proteome

Worldwide, the number of mobile phone users has increased from 5.57 billion in 2011 to 6.8 billion in 2019. However, short- and long-term impact of the electromagnetic radiation emitting from mobile phones on tissue homeostasis with particular to brain proteome composition needs further investigation. In this study, we attempted a global proteome profiling study of rat hippocampus exposed to mobile phone radiation for 20 weeks (for 3 h/day for 5 days/week) to identify deregulated proteins and western blot analysis for validation. As a result, we identified 358 hippocampus proteins, of which 16 showed deregulation (log₂ (exposed/sham) ≥ ±1.0, p-value <.05). Majority of these deregulated proteins grouped into three clusters sharing similar molecular pathways. A set of four proteins (Succinate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase: Aldh5a1, Na⁺ K⁺ transporting ATPase: Atp1b2, plasma membrane calcium transporting ATPase: PMCA and protein S100B) presenting each functional pathway were selected for validation. Western blot analysis of these proteins, in an independent sample set, corroborated the mass spectrometry findings. Aldh5a1 involve in cellular energy metabolism, both Atp1b2 and PMCA responsible for membrane transport and protein S100B have a neuroprotective role. In conclusion, we present a deregulated hippocampus proteome upon mobile phone radiation exposure, which might influence the healthy functioning of the brain.