Pathology of testis in newborn mice exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) during developmental period

Abstract

Background: The project is designed to evaluate the effect of intrauterine exposure to 50Hz electromagnetic field (EMF) on testicular development. Method: Pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to 3 ?T EMF for 21 days, 4 hours/day. Unexposed pregnant mice were used as controls. After delivery, testes were removed from male pups, fixed and prepared for light and electron microscopic studies. Results: Microscopy revealed that the seminiferous tubules from EMF-exposed mice were widely separated from each other, in comparison to control mice. It appeared that the populations of sertoli cells decreased in experimental group, and were also seen some hypertrophied huge gonocytes in the lumen of tubules. The gonocytes seemed smaller in size and many vacuoles appeared in the interstital area of seminiferous tubules. In control group the germ cells appeared normal and sertoli cells were not affected. Conclusion: In general, as a result of the exposure to EMF during early developmental period, morphological changes in testicular development were evident. This effect may well extend till adult stage and may affect fertility as well.