The effect of prenatal exposure to electromagnetic field on the newborn rat testicle

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) at prenatal term on the newborn rat testicle.Six pregnant-female Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups. No procedure was performed in Group 1 (control group). Group 2 (EMF Group) was exposed to a 900-megahertz (MHz) EMF for 1 h during days 13-21 of pregnancy throughout the experimental period at the same hour every day. No procedure was performed on newborn rats after birth, and the study continued with newborn male rats. These were divided into 2 groups. Group 1-E (n: 10) consisted of newborn male rats which from mothers in the control group and Group 2-E (n: 10) consisted of newborn male rats from mothers from the EMF group. All animals were sacrificed and their testicles extracted at the end of the experimental period (postnatal day 21). Testicular tissue samples were evaluated histopathologically under light microscope. The TUNEL technique was used to determine apoptosis in testicles. Oxidative stress marker levels and DNA oxidation were evaluated biochemically in blood and tissues.Histopathologically, testicular tissue in Group 2-E showed seminiferous tubule irregularities in the basal membrane, germinal epithelial cells in the lumen, irregularities in the germinal epithelium of seminiferous tubules and a decreased diameter of seminiferous tubules and thickness of germinal epithelium.Apoptotic index assessed using the TUNEL method was statistically significantly higher in Group 2-E than in Group 1-E. Biochemically, we observed increased lipid peroxidation and DNA oxidation.Our data indicate that the newborn rat testicle exposed to 900 MHz EMF at prenatal term may be adversely affected andthat this effect persists after birth in the form of irregularities in testicular morphology up to the 21st day.