title: Can safe and long-term exposure to extremely low frequency (50 Hz) magnetic fields affect apoptosis, reproduction, and oxidative stress?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether 50 Hz extremely low frequency-magnetic fields (ELF-MF) affects apoptotic processes, oxidative damage, and reproductive characteristics such as sperm count and morphology in rat testes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the present study, which were divided into three groups (sham group, n = 10, and two experimental groups, n = 10 for each group). Rats in the experimental group were exposed to 100 and 500 μT ELF-MF (2 h/day, 7 days/week, for 10 months) corresponding to exposure levels that are considered safe for humans. The same experimental procedures were applied to the sham group, but the ELF generator was turned off. Tissues from the testes were immunohistochemically stained for active (cleaved) caspase-3 in order to measure the apoptotic index by a semi-quantitative scoring system. The levels of catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), total antioxidative capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) were also measured. Additionally, epididymal sperm count and sperm morphology was evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in the reproductive and oxidative stress parameters between the sham group and the exposed groups (p > 0.05). While no difference was observed between the final apoptosis score of the sham and the 100 μT ELF-MF group (p > 0.05), the final apoptosis score was higher in the 500 μT ELF-MF exposure group than in the sham group (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long-term exposure to 100 μT and 500 μT ELF-MF did not affect oxidative or antioxidative processes, lipid peroxidation, or reproductive components such as sperm count and morphology in testes tissue of rats. However, long-term exposure to 500 μT ELF-MF did affect active-caspase-3 activity, which is a well-known apoptotic indicator.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics, Medical School of Dicle University , Diyarbakır.
authors.forename: Mehmet Zulkuf
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Akdag
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dasdag
authors.forename: Ali Kemal
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Uzunlar
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ulukaya
authors.forename: Arzu Yilmaztepe
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Oral
authors.forename: Necla
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Çelik
authors.forename: Feyzan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Akşen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D017209:Apoptosis; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D004822:Epididymis / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D016877:Oxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012098:Reproduction; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016877:Oxidants; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002374:Catalase; D009195:Peroxidase; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3