Mobile phone radiation during pubertal development has no effect on testicular histology in rats

Abstract

Mobile phones are extensively used throughout the world. There is a growing concern about the possible public health hazards posed by electromagnetic radiation emitted from mobile phones. Potential health risk applies particularly to the most intensive mobile phone users—typically, young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mobile phone exposure to the testes, by assessing the histopathological and biochemical changes in the testicular germ cells of rats during pubertal development. A total of 12 male Sprague Dawley rats were used. The study group ( n = 6) was exposed to a mobile phone for 1 h a day for 45 days, while the control group ( n = 6) remained unexposed. The testes were processed with routine paraffin histology and sectioned. They were stained with hematoxylin–eosin, caspase 3, and Ki-67 and then photographed. No changes were observed between the groups ( p > 0.05). The interstitial connective tissue and cells of the exposed group were of normal morphology. No abnormalities in the histological appearance of the seminiferous tubules, including the spermatogenic cycle stage, were observed. Our study demonstrated that mobile phones with a low specific absorption rate have no harmful effects on pubertal rat testicles.