Evaluation of the effects of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on mammalian follicle development.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of pulsed, extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) on in-vitro mouse pre-antral follicle development. Pre-antral follicles were cultured for 5 days and exposed to ELF-EMF at the frequencies of 33 or 50 Hz. ELF-EMF application did not affect follicular growth over a 3 day culture period, but on day 5 the growth of 33 Hz-exposed follicles was significantly reduced when compared with controls, while the 50 Hz-exposed follicles were not significantly affected. However, ELF-EMF severely impaired antrum formation at both frequencies, as 79 +/- 3% of control follicles developed antral cavities compared with 30 +/- 6% and 51.6 +/- 4% of 33 or 50 Hz-exposed follicles respectively. The follicles with failed antrum formation showed lower oestradiol release and granulosa cell DNA synthesis, but these effects were not related to granulosa cell apoptosis. Furthermore, a high percentage of the in-vitro grown oocytes obtained from exposed follicles had a reduced ability to resume meiotic maturation when compared with controls. These results suggest that ELF-EMF exposure might impair mammalian female reproductive potentiality by reducing the capacity of the follicles to reach a developmental stage that is an essential pre-requisite for reproductive success.
Cecconi
S
S
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of L'Aquila, Rome, Italy. cecconi@univaq.it
Gualtieri
G
G
Di Bartolomeo
A
A
Troiani
G
G
Cifone
M G
MG
Canipari
R
R
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D008540:Meiosis / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009093:Mucus / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
D004958:Estradiol