Do Microwaves of Mobile Phone Affect the Testicular Tissue Structure? (A histopathological and ultrastructural study) | ||
| The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine | ||
| Article 7, Volume 37, Issue 1, October 2009, Pages 685-699 PDF (2.35 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejhm.2009.17479 | ||
| Author | ||
| Samir A. Nassar | ||
| Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: Some studies have reported that microwave radiation have adverse effects on reproduction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of mobile phone microwaves on the histological structure and ultrastructure of mice testis. Material: five adult male mice were subjected to the mobile phone microwaves (900- 1800 MHz) for 30 days, one hour / day. Their exposure resulted in many histopathological and ultrastructural changes. Results: The light microscopic examination of testis of irradiated animals revealed: disorganization of the germinal epithelia, the seminiferous tubules taking elliptical aspects with intratubular vacuolization, abnormal morphology of early and late spermatids, rupture of the boundary membrane of the seminiferous tubules, pyknotic germ cells, damaged and ill- defined interstitial cells. The semithin sections demonstrated an increased incidence of Sertoli cells but they are detached from the basal membrane, the pachytene spermatocytes appeared with abnormal faint heterochromatin and abnormal shapes of rounded and elongated spermatids and spermatozoa. The ultrastructural examination illustrated Sertoli cells with lobulated nuclei, ill-defined nucleoli and ruptured cell boundary. Pachytene spermatocytes appeared with low integrity and faint and dispersed chromatin material. Some of them were necrotic and others were apoptotic. Early (rounded) and late (elongated) spermatids appeared with vacuolated cytoplasm and deformed morphology. The interstitial cells of Leydig appeared smaller in size with more electron dense components, vacuolated cytoplasm, ruptured mitochondria and fragmented nuclei. Their neighbouring blood capillaries appeared congested with damaged lateral pericytes . Conclusion: The results of this study showed that 1h / day (30 consecutive days) exposure of 900-1800 MHz microwaves affected the histological structure of mice testis particularly the Leydig cells and recorded an apoptosis-inducing effect on the spermatogenic cells. Further investigations are required to confirm these findings and to clarify the mechanism of action of the applied microwave exposure on male reproductive organs, as well as to establish the biological significance of these observations. | ||
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