Brain tissue may be especially sensitive to electromagnetic phenomena provoking signs of neural stress in cerebral activity. Fifty-four adult female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent ELISA and immunohistochemistry testing of four relevant anatomical areas of the cerebrum to measure biomarkers indicating induction of heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70), glucocorticoid receptors (GCR) or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) after single or repeated exposure to 2.45 GHz radiation in the experimental set-up. Neither radiation regime caused tissue heating, so thermal effects can be ruled out. A progressive decrease in GCR and HSP-70 was observed after acute or repeated irradiation in the somatosensory cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus. In the limbic cortex; however, values for both biomarkers were significantly higher after repeated exposure to irradiation when compared to control animals. GFAP values in brain tissue after irradiation were not significantly different or were even lower than those of nonirradiated animals in all brain regions studied. Our results suggest that repeated exposure to 2.45 GHz elicited GCR/HSP-70 dysregulation in the brain, triggering a state of stress that could decrease tissue anti-inflammatory action without favoring glial proliferation and make the nervous system more vulnerable.
Keywords: 2.45 GHz radiation; GFAP; HSP-70; glucocorticoid receptor; nonionizing radiation.