title: Ultra high frequency-electromagnetic field irradiation during pregnancy leads to an increase in erythrocytes micronuclei incidence in rat offspring.
abstract: Mobile telephones and their base stations are an important ultra high frequency-electromagnetic field (UHF-EMF) source and their utilization is increasing all over the world. Epidemiological studies suggested that low energy UHF-EMF emitted from a cellular telephone may cause biological effects, such as DNA damage and changes on oxidative metabolism. An in vivo mammalian cytogenetic test, the micronucleus (MN) assay, was used to investigate the occurrence of chromosomal damage in erythrocytes from rat offspring exposed to a non-thermal UHF-EMF from a cellular phone during their embryogenesis; the irradiated group showed a significant increase in MN occurrence. In order to investigate if UHF-EMF could also alter oxidative parameters in the peripheral blood and in the liver - an important hematopoietic tissue in rat embryos and newborns - we also measured the activity of antioxidant enzymes, quantified total sulfhydryl content, protein carbonyl groups, thiobarbituric acid-reactive species and total non-enzymatic antioxidant defense. No significant differences were found in any oxidative parameter of offspring blood and liver. The average number of pups in each litter has also not been significantly altered. Our results suggest that, under our experimental conditions, UHF-EMF is able to induce a genotoxic response in hematopoietic tissue during the embryogenesis through an unknown mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudos em Estresse Oxidativo, Departamento de Bioquímica, ICBS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. arferreira@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Amâncio Romanelli
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Tanise
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Knakievicz
authors.forename: Matheus Augusto de Bittencourt
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pasquali
authors.forename: Daniel Pens
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Gelain
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dal-Pizzol
authors.forename: Claudio Enrique Rodriguez
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: Alvaro Augusto de Almeida
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Salles
authors.forename: Henrique Bunselmeyer
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: José Cláudio Fonseca
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Moreira
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis; D008098:Litter Size; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective / Q000528:radiation effects*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase