Reactions of keratinocytes to in vitro millimeter wave exposure

The effects of millimeter waves (MW) on human keratinocytes were studied in vitro using the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line. MW-induced modulation of ker atinocyte function was studied in proliferation, adhesion, chemotaxis, and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) production assays. Spontaneous proliferation , adhesion to tissue culture plate, random migration, and IL-8- and RANTES induced chemotaxis were not affected by exposure of cells to millimeter wav es under the following conditions: frequency, 61.22 GHz; SAR, 770 W/kg; dur ation of exposure, 15-30 min. However, MW irradiation resulted in a modest but statistically significant increase in the intracellular level of IL-1 b eta. These data suggest that exposure of human skin (with keratinocytes bei ng the major component of epidermis) to MW can cause activation of basal ke ratinocytes resulting in an elevated level of IL-1 beta production. (C) 200 1 Wiley-Liss. Inc.