title: Biochemical and histopathological effects on the rat testis after exposure to electromagnetic field during fetal period.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Electromagnetic radiation (ER) emitted from cell phones may exert a detrimental influence on human health and may affect the man reproductive system. We aimed to study the biological and morphological effects on the testes of 60-day-old male rats after ER exposure (900 MHz), which was applied continuously throughout embryogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of six pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were included in the study. Three pregnant rats (experimental group) were exposed to radiation from a cell phone set to talking mode for 24 hours a day for 20 days, and the other 3 pregnant rats (control group) were not to exposed to radiation. Newborn male rats were included from the experimental group (n=7) and the control group (n=7). At the end of 60 days, the rats' testes were excised, and testis length, width, depth, and weight were measured. Histopathological examinations were compared and serum testosterone (T) levels were assayed biochemically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While serum T level (3.51±0.21 ng/ml) of ER Exposed group was significantly lower than the control group (4.04±0.47 ng/ml, p=0.018), Caspase-3 enzyme activity (2.00±0.88) was significantly higher than the control group control (1.00±0.63, p=0.026). Johnsen score (8.4±0.5) of ER group was fairly lower than the control group (9.4±0.5, p=0.010).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrated that ER exposure throughout embryogenesis may cause reductions in serum total T levels and in the size and weight of the testes of male rats, while causing modest increase in apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sehitoglu
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tumkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embryology. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Yildiray
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kalkan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Recep
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bedir
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Medine Cumhur
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cure
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Orhan Unal
authors.initials: OU
authors.lastname: Zorba
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University. Medical Faculty. Rize. Turkey.
authors.forename: Erkan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cure
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine. Kumru State Hospital. Ordu. Turkey.
authors.forename: Suleyman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuce
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013737:Testis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone