Microwave (MW) radiation poses the risk of potential hazards on human health. The present study investigated the effects of MW 10 GHz exposure for 3 h/day for 30 days at power densities of 5.23 ± 0.25 and 10.01 ± 0.15 mW/cm² in the skin of rats. The animals exposed to 10 mW/cm² (corresponded to twice the ICNIRP-2020 occupational reference level of MW exposure for humans) exhibited significant biophysical, biochemical, molecular and histological alterations compared to sham-irradiated animals. Infrared thermography revealed an increase in average skin surface temperature by 1.8°C and standard deviation of 0.3°C after 30 days of 10 mW/cm² MW exposure compared to the sham-irradiated animals. MW exposure also led to oxidative stress (ROS, 4-HNE, LPO, AOPP), inflammatory responses (NFkB, iNOS/NOS2, COX-2) and metabolic alterations [hexokinase (HK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), citrate synthase (CS) and glucose-6-phospahte dehydrogenase (G6PD)] in 10 mW/cm² irradiated rat skin. A significant alteration in expression of markers associated with cell survival (Akt/PKB) and HSP27/p38MAPK-related stress-response signaling cascade was observed in 10 mW/cm² irradiated rat skin compared to sham-irradiated rat skin. However, MW-irradiated groups did not show apoptosis, evident by unchanged caspase-3 levels. Histopathological analysis revealed a mild cytoarchitectural alteration in epidermal layer and slight aggregation of leukocytes in 10 mW/cm² irradiated rat skin. Altogether, the present findings demonstrated that 10 GHz exposure in continuous-wave mode at 10 mW/cm² (3 h/day, 30 days) led to significant alterations in molecular markers associated with adaptive stress-response in rat skin. Furthermore, systematic scientific studies on more prevalent pulsed-mode of MW-radiation exposure for prolonged duration are warranted.

微波 (MW) 辐射会对人类健康造成潜在危害。本研究调查了功率密度为 5.23 ± 0.25 和 10.01 ± 0.15 mW/cm ²的 MW 10 GHz 暴露 3 小时/天、持续 30 天对大鼠皮肤的影响。与假照射动物相比，暴露于 10 mW/cm ²（相当于 ICNIRP-2020 人类微波暴露职业参考水平的两倍）的动物表现出显着的生物物理、生物化学、分子和组织学改变。红外热成像显示，10 mW/cm ² 30 天后，平均皮肤表面温度增加 1.8°C，标准偏差增加 0.3°C与假照射动物相比的 MW 暴露。MW 暴露还导致氧化应激（ROS、4-HNE、LPO、AOPP）、炎症反应（NFkB、iNOS/NOS2、COX-2）和代谢改变 [己糖激酶 (HK)、乳酸脱氢酶 (LDH)、柠檬酸合酶 ( CS) 和葡萄糖-6-磷酸脱氢酶 (G6PD)] 在 10 mW/cm ²辐照大鼠皮肤中。在 10 mW/cm ²下观察到与细胞存活相关的标志物 (Akt/PKB) 和 HSP27/p38MAPK 相关应激反应信号级联反应的显着改变辐照大鼠皮肤与假辐照大鼠皮肤相比。然而，MW 辐照组没有显示细胞凋亡，这通过 caspase-3 水平不变来证明。组织病理学分析显示，在 10 mW/cm ²照射的大鼠皮肤中，表皮层有轻微的细胞结构改变和白细胞的轻微聚集。总而言之，目前的研究结果表明，在连续波模式下以 10 mW/cm ²（3 小时/天，30 天）的10 GHz 暴露导致与大鼠皮肤适应性应激反应相关的分子标记发生显着变化。此外，有必要对更普遍的脉冲模式的 MW 辐射暴露长时间进行系统的科学研究。