Quantitative analysis of nuclear morphological alterations in oral mucosal epithelial cells exposed to electromagnetic radiation from mobile devices

Enni Halimatussadiyah Pakpahan, Adi Hartono

Abstract


Electromagnetic wave (EMW) radiation from mobile devices has raised public health concerns due to its potential biological effects on rapidly regenerating tissues such as the oral mucosa. This study quantitatively analyzed nuclear morphological alterations in oral mucosal epithelial cells following controlled EMW exposure. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was conducted with 30 healthy participants aged 18–25 years, randomly assigned to control (n = 15) and treatment (n = 15) groups. The treatment group was exposed to EMW at 1800 MHz for 60 minutes per day over 14 consecutive days, using an active smartphone placed 1 cm from the right cheek during a simulated voice-call condition. The control group received no direct exposure. Buccal epithelial cells were collected via oral swab, fixed in Carnoy’s solution, stained with hematoxylin–eosin, and observed under a light microscope at 400× magnification. Quantitative assessment focused on three types of nuclear abnormalities: pyknosis, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis. The Independent Samples t-test showed a significantly higher mean number of nuclear abnormalities in the exposed group than in the control group (12.47 ± 3.15 vs. 4.86 ± 1.92 cells/field; p < 0.001). Pyknosis was the most frequent alteration (58.3%), followed by karyorrhexis (26.7%) and karyolysis (15.0%). All procedures were approved by the institutional ethics committee. In conclusion, short-term exposure to 1800 MHz EMW from mobile devices under controlled conditions can induce measurable degenerative nuclear changes in oral epithelial cells, suggesting cellular susceptibility to non-ionizing radiation at the cytomorphological level.


Keywords


Electromagnetic radiation; light microscopy; oral mucosal epithelial cells; quantitative morphological analysis; smartphone exposure

Full Text:

PDF

References


Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (2015). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Rand McNally.

Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 98–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783

Dkhar, D. S., Swain, R. P., Dubey, R., Patel, G. K., & Chandra, P. (2025). Plant-derived enzymes as sustainable biocatalysts for biosensing and industrial applications. Industrial Crops and Products, 233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121336

Fenech, M., Thomas, P., & Holland, N. (2023). Buccal micronucleus cytome biomarkers may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Mutagenesis, 22, 371–379.

Fenech, M., Knasmueller, S., Nersesyan, A., Bolognesi, C., Wultsch, G., Schunck, C., & Bonassi, S. (2024). The buccal micronucleus cytome assay: New horizons for its implementation in human studies. Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, 894, 503724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrgentox.2023.503724

Field, A. P. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Ghandehari, M., Sadri, D., & Farhadi, S. (2021). Micronucleus assay in cell phone users: Importance of oral mucosa screening. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 12(1), 125. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijpvm.IJPVM_48919

Gouseti, O., Larsen, M. E., Amin, A., Bakalis, S., Petersen, I. L., Lametsch, R., & Jensen, P. E. (2023). Applications of enzyme technology to enhance transition to plant proteins: a review. Foods, 12(13), 2518. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12132518

Gulati, G. S., Sikandar, S. S., Wesche, D. J., Manjunath, A., Bharadwaj, A., Berger, M. J., & Newman, A. M. (2020). Single-cell transcriptional diversity is a hallmark of developmental potential. Science, 367(6476), 405-411. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax0249

ICNIRP. (2020). Guidelines for limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (100 kHz–300 GHz). International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

Kadeh, H., Saravani, S., Moradi, M., & Alimanesh, N. (2023). A comparative evaluation of the genotoxic effects of mobile phone radiation using buccal micronucleus assay. Journal of Dentistry, 24(1Suppl), 118. https://doi.org/10.30476/dentjods.2022.92515.1656

Khalil, A. M., Alemam, I. F., & Al-Qaoud, K. M. (2020). Association between mobile phone using and DNA damage of epithelial cells of the oral mucosa. Jurnal Biomed Biotechnol, 3, 050-066. https://doi.org/10.26502/jbb.2642-91280027

Kulikov, D. S., & Korolev, A. A. (2025). Aspects of enzymatic modification of plant proteins. Food systems, 8(1), 22-28. https://doi.org/10.21323/2618-9771-2025-8-1-22-28

Kumar, R., Deshmukh, P. S., Sharma, S., & Banerjee, B. D. (2021). Effect of mobile phone signal radiation on epigenetic modulation in the hippocampus of Wistar rat. Environmental Research, 192, 110297.

Kundi, M., Nersesyan, A., Schmid, G., Hutter, H. P., Eibensteiner, F., Mišík, M., & Knasmüller, S. (2024). Mobile phone specific radiation disturbs cytokinesis and causes cell death but not acute chromosomal damage in buccal cells: Results of a controlled human intervention study. Environmental Research, 251, 118634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.118634

Li, Q., Chang, B., Huang, G., Wang, D., Gao, Y., Fan, Z., ... & Sui, X. (2025). Differential enzymatic hydrolysis: A study on its impact on soy protein structure, function, and soy milk powder properties. Foods, 14(5), 906. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14050906

Massaro, L., De Sanctis, S., Franchini, V., Regalbuto, E., Alfano, G., Focaccetti, C., ... & Lista, F. (2022). Study of genotoxic and cytotoxic effects induced in human fibroblasts by exposure to pulsed and continuous 1.6 GHz radiofrequency. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1419525. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1419525

Mosibo, O. K., Pulatsu, E., Onipe, O. O., Ezeorba, T. P., & Udenigwe, C. C. (2024). Enzymatic modification of plant proteins: influence on functional properties, allergenicity, and bioactivity. In Functionality of plant proteins (pp. 277-307). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91721-6.00009-8

Nguyen, C. T., Costa, G., Girardi, L., Volpato, G., Bressan, A., Chen, Y., ... & Goudfrooij, P. (2022). PARSEC V2. 0: Stellar tracks and isochrones of low-and intermediate-mass stars with rotation. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 665, A126. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202244166

Reimann, H., Stopper, H., Polak, T., Lauer, M., Herrmann, M. J., Deckert, J., & Hintzsche, H. (2020). Micronucleus frequency in buccal mucosa cells of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 22196. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78832-y

Revanth, M., Aparna, S., Madankumar, P. D., & Ranganathan, K. (2021). Effects of mobile phone radiation on buccal mucosal cells based on specific absorption rate: a cross sectional study. Int. J. Community Med. Public Health, 8, 3546. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20212616

Sangle, V., Male, V. P., Sanap, S., Maniyar, A., Ugale, G., & Gundre, D. (2023). Evaluation of Micronuclei in Buccal Smears of Mobile Phone Users: A Comparative Study. Journal of the International Clinical Dental Research Organization, 15(2), 112-118. https://doi.org/10.4103/jicdro.jicdro_40_23

Santoso, T., Al-Shaikhli, Y., Ho, T. M., Rajapakse, M., & Le, T. T. (2025). Optimising Enzymatic Cross-Linking: Impact on Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Lupin Flour and Soy Protein Isolate. Foods, 14(11), 1976. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14111976

Schmid, W. (1975). The micronucleus test. Mutation Research, 31, 9–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1161(75)90058-8

Thomas, P., & Fenech, M. (2009). Buccal micronucleus cytome assay. In V. Didenko (Ed.), DNA damage detection in situ, ex vivo, and in vivo (Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 682, pp. 235–248). Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-409-8_17

Tolbert, P. E., Shy, C. M., & Allen, J. W. (1992). Micronuclei and other nuclear anomalies in buccal smears: methods development. Mutation Research, 271, 69–77.

Tong, S. C., Siow, L. F., Tang, T. K., & Lee, Y. Y. (2025). Effect of Enzyme‐Assisted Extraction on Structural and Functional Properties of Palm Kernel Protein. Journal of Food Biochemistry, 2025(1), 8869943. https://doi.org/10.1155/jfbc/8869943

Torabinia, N., Mehdizadeh, M., Keshani, F., Mehdizadeh, M., Soltani, P., & Spagnuolo, G. (2024). Genotoxicity and Micronucleus Formation as a Result of Panoramic Radiography in Epithelial Cells of the Buccal Mucosa: A Cross‐sectional Study in Adults. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research, 10(4), e915. https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.915

Wang, Y., Zheng, Z., & Liu, Y. (2024). Effects of modification on plant protein digestion and absorption. Food Bioscience, 105761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2024.105761

Wouters, A. G., Rombouts, I., Fierens, E., Brijs, K., & Delcour, J. A. (2016). Relevance of the functional properties of enzymatic plant protein hydrolysates in food systems. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 15(4), 786-800. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12209

Ye, S. J., Park, H. J., & Baik, M. Y. (2025). Modification of plant proteins as alternatives to animal proteins: a review. Food Science and Biotechnology, 34(2), 349-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-024-01705-x

Zhao, Y., Fang, C., Zhang, Q., Zhang, R., Zhao, X., Duan, Y., ... & Yang, H. (2022). Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 main protease in complex with protease inhibitor PF-07321332. Protein & cell, 13(9), 689-693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-021-00883-2




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30821/biolokus.v8i2.4763

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Jurnal Biolokus : Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Biologi dan Biologi

indexed by :