This review summarizes studies reporting radiofrequency radiation (RFR)-associated changes in gene expression across biological systems. Reported affected genes relate to cellular stress responses, oxidative processes, apoptosis, DNA damage detection/repair, protein repair, and neural function regulation. The authors highlight reported gene expression effects at or below 0.4 W/kg SAR and argue this challenges current guideline assumptions, while noting that not all studies find significant effects.

This in vitro study reports that radiofrequency (RF) exposure in the 800–2,400 MHz range modulates differentiation pathways in human cortical organoids derived from embryonic stem cells. RF exposure is described as maintaining radial glia stem cell identity and delaying differentiation, alongside induction of endogenous retrovirus expression and increased expression of ASD-associated genes and retroelements. The abstract attributes these effects to dysregulation of BET proteins and reports that BET inhibition rescues the RF-associated developmental defects.

This in vitro study exposed pig conceptuses (days 15–16 of pregnancy) to 50 Hz ELF-EMF for 2 hours and assessed transcriptomic and DNA methylation changes. The authors report altered expression of 21 protein-coding transcripts and an approximately 16-fold increase in genomic DNA methylation, with promoter methylation changes in several named genes. They conclude ELF-EMF interacts with gene expression and DNA methylation processes during early development and call for further safety research.

This animal study examined repeated asymmetrical head exposure to a 5G-modulated 3.5 GHz signal in adult male mice for six weeks. It reports no significant changes in locomotion, anxiety, or object-based memory performance under the tested conditions. However, it found statistically significant but limited cortical gene expression changes (<1% of expressed genes), including enrichment for glutamatergic synapse-related genes and lateralized differences involving mitochondrial genome-encoded genes. The authors caution that potential health risks from these intracortical transcriptomic modifications should not be downplayed and note uncertainties about longer exposures and other populations.

This animal study exposed juvenile and young adult Wistar rats to 5G (3.5 GHz) or 2G (900 MHz) radiofrequency fields (1.5 V/m) for 1–2 weeks and measured brown adipose tissue-related gene expression by RT-qPCR. The abstract reports significant downregulation of PRDM16 and C/EBP mRNA after 5G exposure, while UCP1-dependent thermogenesis markers were not significantly changed at the transcriptional level. The authors interpret these findings as a potential partial disruption of brown adipocyte differentiation and raise EMF safety concerns, while calling for further confirmatory research.