Inhibitory Effects of Microwave Radiation on LPS-Induced NFκB Expression in THP-1 Monocytes

Microwave radiations can be encountered regularly in daily lives. When WHO announced that microwave radiations were a kind of environmental energy which interfere with the physiological functions of the human body, great concerns have been raised over the damages microwave frequencies can do to human physiology. The immunological performance and the activities of the cellular inflammatory factor NF kappa B have been closely related in monocyte. Due to the effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on THP-1 monocytes, THP-1 monocytes would differentiate into macrophages and would then react with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and the amount of NF kappa B increased in the THP-1 monocytes. Expression of cytokine is affected when cells are exposed to a frequency of 2450 MHz and at 900 W. Thus, in our experiments, an observation was made when THP-1 monocytes were stimulated with PMA and LPS to differentiate into macrophage, the amount of NF kappa B in cells increased exponentially, and the levels of NF kappa B expression were decreased by the exposure of microwave radiation. In conclusion, microwave radiations were found to inhibit the activity functions of THP-1 monocytes stimulated with PMA and LPS.