Long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones can cause considerable changes in the balance of Bax/Bcl2 mRNA expression in the hippocampus of mice

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was the investigation of the effects of mobile phones at different daily exposure times on the hippocampal expression of two apoptotic genes. Forty-eight male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into six groups with 8 animals in each group. Four experimental groups were respectively exposed to electromagnetic waves for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 hours twice a day for 30 consecutive days. One experimental group was radiated for 4 hours once a day, while the control group did not receive any radiation during the experiment. The expression of both Bax and Bcl2 mRNAs was upregulated in the mice exposed for one and two hours. Whilst the highest expressions were observed in the two-hours radiation in the exposed group, the expression of both studied genes was downregulated in animals with longer exposure to radiation in a duration-dependent manner. The highest ratio of Bax/Bcl2 expression was observed in the mice that received radiation for four hours twice a day. These results revealed that mobile phone radiation can cause considerable changes in the balance of Bax/Bcl2 mRNA expression in laboratory mice hippocampus.

KEYWORDS:

• Electromagnetic Waves
• apoptosis
• Bcl2
• Bax
• hippocampus

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the office of vice president for research of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran for funding this work. We thank Dr. Mehdi Ghorbani, Dr. Gholamreza Anayesarab, Mr. Mohammad Reza Ghasemi, and Ms. Somayeh Arian for their laboratory cooperation and helpful comments.

Highlights

The number of mobile devices are growing every day and smartphones are becoming important as a part of human life. This will more and more expose humans to non- ionizing radiation and endure adverse effects will be inevitable. For this reason, this study has been conducted to investigate the non-thermal effects of mobile phones at different daily exposure times on the hippocampal apoptotic gene expression. The most prominent result of these experiments was the great increase in the risk of apoptosis in the hippocampus of the mice that is depended on the duration time of exposure.

Ethical statements

All international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed and all animal procedures followed the regulations of the Institutional Ethical Animal Care Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. This study financially supported by the research deputy of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.