The effect of 2.45 GHz non-ionizing radiation on the structure and ultrastructure of the testis in juvenile rats
Veronika Šimaiová1, Viera Almášiová1, Katarína Holovská1, Terézia Kisková2, Františka Horváthová3, Zuzana Ševčíková4, Štefan Tóth5, Adam Raček6, Enikő Račeková7, Katarína Beňová6, Petr Dvořák8 and Viera Cigánková1
1Department of Anatomy, Histology and Physiology, Institute of Histology and Embryology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, 2Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, 3Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, 4Department of Pathological Anatomy and Pathological Physiology, Institute of Pathological Anatomy, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, 5Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice, 6Department of Biology and Genetics, Institute of Biology, Zoology and Radiobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, 7Institute of Neurobiology of Biomedical Research Center of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia and 8Department of Gastronomy, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
Offprint requests to: D.V.M., Veronika Šimaiová, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Physiology, Institute of Histology and Embryology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Komenského 73, 041 81, Košice, Slovak Republic. e-mail: nika.simaiova@gmail.com
Summary. Background. Nowadays, mobile devices that emit non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) are predominantly used by juveniles and pubescents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of whole body pulsed EMR on the juvenile Wistar albino rat testis at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and mean power density of 2.8 mW/cm2. Methods. The investigated animals (n=24) were divided into two control and two EMR groups (5 and 6 week old rats; 6 rats per group). Both EMR groups were irradiated continually for 3 weeks (2h/day) from postnatal days 14 and 21, respectively. Results. EMR caused an irregular shape of seminiferous tubules with desquamated immature germ cells in the lumen, a large number of empty spaces along the seminiferous epithelium and dilated and congested blood vessels in the interstitial tissue of the testis. The cytoplasm of Sertoli cells showed strong vacuolization and damaged organelles, with the cytoplasm full of different heterophagic and lipid vacuoles or the cytoplasm of spermatocytes with swollen mitochondria in both irradiated groups. A significant increase in the total tubular area of seminiferous tubules was observed in both EMR groups compared with controls (P<0.001). A significant increase in the TUNEL-positive apoptotic nuclei (P<0.01) was accompanied by a significant rise in both Cu-Zn-SOD (P<0.01) and Mn-SOD (P<0.001) positive cells in the 6 week old experimental rats compared to control animals. Conclusion. Our results confirmed a harmful effect of non-ionizing radiation on the structure and ultrastructure of the juvenile rat testis. Histol Histopathol 34, 391-403 (2019)
Key words: Juvenile rats, Non-ionizing Radiation, Testis, Giant cells
DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-049