Immunohistochemical study of postnatal neurogenesis after whole-body exposure to electromagnetic fields: evaluation of age- and dose-related changes in rats.
It is well established that strong electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can give rise to acute health effects, such as burns, which can be effectively prevented by respecting exposure guidelines and regulations. Current concerns are instead directed toward the possibility that long-term exposure to weak EMF might have detrimental health effects due to some biological mechanism, to date unknown. (1) The possible risk due to pulsed EMF at frequency 2.45 GHz and mean power density 2.8 mW/cm(2) on rat postnatal neurogenesis was studied in relation to the animal's age, duration of the exposure dose, and post-irradiation survival. (2) Proliferating cells marker, BrdU, was used to map age- and dose-related immunohistochemical changes within the rostral migratory stream (RMS) after whole-body exposure of newborn (P7) and senescent (24 months) rats. (3) Two dose-related exposure patterns were performed to clarify the cumulative effect of EMF: short-term exposure dose, 2 days irradiation (4 h/day), versus long-term exposure dose, 3 days irradiation (8 h/day), both followed by acute (24 h) and chronic (1-4 weeks) post-irradiation survival. (4) We found that the EMF induces significant age- and dose-dependent changes in proliferating cell numbers within the RMS. Our results indicate that the concerns about the possible risk of EMF generated in connection with production, transmission, distribution, and the use of electrical equipment and communication sets are justified at least with regard to early postnatal neurogenesis.
Orendácová
Judita
J
Institute of Neurobiology, Center of Excellence, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice 040 01, Slovak Republic. orendac@saske.sk
Raceková
Eniko
E
Orendác
Martin
M
Martoncíková
Marcela
M
Saganová
Kamila
K
Lievajová
Kamila
K
Abdiová
Henrieta
H
Labun
Ján
J
Gálik
Ján
J
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020547:Lateral Ventricles / Q000528:radiation effects*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation
D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine