Cellphone electromagnetic radiation damages the testicular ultrastructure of male rats

2016 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 2328

Compared with controls, rats exposed to 900 MHz cellphone electromagnetic radiation for 30 days showed testicular ultrastructural damage and increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells (P<0.05). Effects were more pronounced in the 4 h/day group than the 2 h/da…

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2016

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Cellphone electromagnetic radiation damages the testicular ultrastructure of male rats Gao XH, Hu HR, Ma X2, Chen J, Zhang GH. [Cellphone electromagnetic radiation damages the testicular ultrastructure of male rats]. [Article in Chinese]. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2016 Jun;22(6):491-495. Abstract OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of cellphone electromagnetic radiation (CER) on the testicular ultrastructure and the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells in male rats.atability, feasibility, applicability, and controllability in the construction of experimental animal models, we compared the major anatomic features of the penis of 20 adult beagle dogs with those of 10 adult men. Using microsurgical techniques, we performed cross-transplantation of the penis in the 20 (10 pairs) beagle dogs and observed the survival rate of the transplanted penises by FK506+MMF+MP immune induction. We compared the relevant indexes with those of the 10 cases of microsurgical replantation of the amputated penis. METHODS: Thirty adult male SD rats were equally randomized into a 2 h CER, a 4 h CER, and a normal control group, the former two groups exposed to 30 days of 900 MHz CER for 2 and 4 hours a day, respectively, while the latter left untreated. Then the changes in the ultrastructure of the testis tissue were observed under the transmission electron microscope and the apoptosis of the spermatogenic cells was determined by TUNEL. RESULTS: Compared with the normal controls, the rats of the 2 h CER group showed swollen basement membrane of seminiferous tubules, separated tight junction of Sertoli cells, increased cell intervals, apparent vacuoles and medullization in some mitochondria, and increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells, mainly the apoptosis of primary spermatocytes (P<0.05 ). In comparison with the 2 h CER group, the animals of the 4 h CER group exhibited swollen basement membrane of seminiferous tubules, more separated tight junction of Sertoli cells, wider cell intervals, incomplete membrane of spermatogonial cells, fragments of cytoplasm, nuclear pyknosis and notch, slight dilation of perinuclear space, abnormalities of intracellular mitochondria with vacuoles, fuzzy structure, and fusion or disappearance of some cristae, and increased damage of mitochondria and apoptosis of spermatogenic cells, including the apoptosis of spermatogonial cells, primary spermatocytes, and secondary spermatocytes (P<0.05 ). CONCLUSIONS: CER can damage the testicular ultrastructure and increase the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells of the male rat in a time-dependent manner, and the apoptosis of spermatogenic cells may be associated with the damage to mitochondria. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

PopulationAdult male SD rats

Sample size30

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · 30 days; 2 or 4 hours/day

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 78% · Peer reviewed: unknown

Main findings

Outcomes measured

Testicular ultrastructure changes (transmission electron microscopy)
Apoptosis of spermatogenic cells (TUNEL)
Mitochondrial ultrastructural abnormalities

Limitations

SAR or exposure intensity not reported in abstract
Animal study; generalizability to humans not addressed
Exposure setup/details (e.g., distance, modulation, dosimetry) not described in abstract
Journal/peer-review status not provided in metadata (though PubMed link suggests publication)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "30 days; 2 or 4 hours/day"
  },
  "population": "Adult male SD rats",
  "sample_size": 30,
  "outcomes": [
    "Testicular ultrastructure changes (transmission electron microscopy)",
    "Apoptosis of spermatogenic cells (TUNEL)",
    "Mitochondrial ultrastructural abnormalities"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Compared with controls, rats exposed to 900 MHz cellphone electromagnetic radiation for 30 days showed testicular ultrastructural damage and increased apoptosis of spermatogenic cells (P<0.05). Effects were more pronounced in the 4 h/day group than the 2 h/day group, with broader spermatogenic cell apoptosis and more mitochondrial damage.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "SAR or exposure intensity not reported in abstract",
    "Animal study; generalizability to humans not addressed",
    "Exposure setup/details (e.g., distance, modulation, dosimetry) not described in abstract",
    "Journal/peer-review status not provided in metadata (though PubMed link suggests publication)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.78,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "unknown",
  "keywords": [
    "cellphone electromagnetic radiation",
    "900 MHz",
    "rats",
    "testis",
    "ultrastructure",
    "spermatogenic cells",
    "apoptosis",
    "TUNEL",
    "mitochondria"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Exposure described as cellphone electromagnetic radiation at 900 MHz."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: Not supplied
PubMed: Not supplied

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