title: Stereological analysis of thyroid mast cells in rats after exposure to extremely low frequency electromagnetic field and the following "off" field period.
abstract: Influence of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) on thyroid gland mast cells was investigated on male Mill Hill rats. Animals were exposed to EMF (50 Hz, 50 microT to 500 microT, 10 V/m) from 24 hours after birth, 7 hours/day, 5 days/week for three months when a part of animals (group I) was sacrificed, while the rest of them were subjected to recovery evaluation and sacrificed after one (group II), two (group II) and three (group IV) weeks following the exposure. Stereological analysis on toluidine blue-stained paraffin sections showed increased volume density of degranulated mast cells in all groups and, except in group III, and numerical density as well, implicating the sensitivity of thyroidal mast cells to power frequency EMFs. Since in our previous investigations, morphofunctional alterations of thyroid gland in rats exposed to ELF-EMF were found the contribution of released mast cell mediators to these changes could be presumed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro. vesna.rajkovic@ib.ns.ac.yu
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rajkovic
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matavulj
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lazetic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004727:Endothelium / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011840:Radiation, Nonionizing; D051381:Rats; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013972:Thyrotropin