title: Disruption of the ovarian follicle reservoir of prepubertal rats following prenatal exposure to a continuous 900-MHz electromagnetic field.
abstract: The effects on human health of electromagnetic field (EMF) have begun to be seriously questioned with the entry into daily life of devices establishing EMF, such as cell phones, wireless fidelity, and masts. Recent studies have reported that exposure to EMF, particularly during pregnancy, affects the developing embryo/fetus. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the effects of exposure to continuous 900-Megahertz (MHz) EMF applied in the prenatal period on ovarian follicle development and oocyte differentiation. Six pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were divided equally into a non-exposed control group (CNGr) and a group (EMFGr) exposed to continuous 900-MHz EMF for 1 h daily, at the same time every day, on days 13-21 of pregnancy. New groups were established from pups obtained from both groups after birth. One group consisting of female pups from CNGr rats was adopted as newborn CNGr (New-CNGr, n = 6), and another group consisting of female pups from EMFGr rats was adopted as newborn EMFGr (New-EMFGr, n = 6). No procedure was performed on New-CNGr or New-EMFGr rats. All rat pups were sacrificed on the postnatal 34th day, and their ovarian tissues were removed. Follicle count, histological injury scoring and morphological assessment with apoptotic index criteria were performed with sections obtained following routine histological tissue preparation. Follicle count results revealed a statistically significant decrease in primordial and tertiary follicle numbers in New-EMFGr compared to New-CNGr (p < 0.05), while atretic follicle numbers and apoptotic index levels increased significantly (p < 0.05). Histopathological examination revealed severe follicle degeneration, vasocongestion, a low level of increased stromal fibrotic tissue and cytoplasmic vacuolization in granulosa cell in New-EMFGr. Prenatal exposure to continuous 900-MHz EMF for 1 h each day from days 13-21 led to a decrease in ovarian follicle reservoirs in female rat pups at the beginning of the prepubertal period.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine , Karadeniz Technical University , Trabzon ;
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Türedi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine , Karadeniz Technical University , Trabzon ;
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hancı
authors.affiliation: b Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine , Düzce University , Düzce ;
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Çolakoğlu
authors.affiliation: c Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering , Karadeniz Technical University , Trabzon , Turkey.
authors.forename: Haydar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.affiliation: a Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine , Karadeniz Technical University , Trabzon ;
authors.forename: Ersan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Odacı
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000818:Animals; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D008872:Microwaves / Q000009:adverse effects; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D065851:Ovarian Reserve / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
keywords: Cell phone; electromagnetism; fertility; prepubertal period; rat ovary