title: Repetitive exposure of mice to strong static magnetic fields in utero does not impair fertility in adulthood but may affect placental weight of offspring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of daily exposure in utero to static magnetic fields during prenatal development on germ cell development and fertility of exposed offspring in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mice were exposed daily in utero to different static magnetic field strengths at the bore entrance or in the isocenter of 1.5 T and 7 T MRI systems during the entire course of prenatal development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In utero-exposed male mice revealed no effect of magnetic field strength on weight of testes and epididymis or on sperm count, sperm morphology, or fertility. Exposed pregnant female mice showed no reduced fertility in terms of pregnancy rates and litter size, pointing to a normal ovarian function. However, a reduced placental weight of offspring of intrauterine exposed female mice was observed that correlated with a decrease in embryonic weight in those animals exposed at the strongest magnetic field. This effect seemed to be parent-dependent, since it was not observed in those embryos fathered by in utero-exposed male mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Repetitive in utero exposure to strong static magnetic fields does not impair fertility but may have a parental-dependent effect on fetal programming with regard to placental development and fetal growth.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology, University Hospital, University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaun
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zahedi
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maderwald
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orzada
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pütter
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scherag
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winterhager
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ladd
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grümmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D005260:Female; D007247:Infertility, Female; D007248:Infertility, Male; D060526:Magnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D023421:Models, Animal; D009929:Organ Size; D010929:Placentation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011897:Random Allocation; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D013737:Testis / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: MRI; embryonic development; fertility; fetal programming; magnetic field