Biological effects of cell-phone radiofrequency waves exposure on fertilization in mice; an in vivo and in vitro study

Abstract

Increasing use of cell-phone is one of the most important risk factors for population health. We designed an experimental study aimed at evaluating the effects of cell-phone radiofrequency (RF) waves exposure on fertilization in mice. Two hundred male and female NMRI-mice were used. One hundred males divided in five groups (n = 20) as control and exposed groups. Those irradiated with cell-phone RF in “Standby-mode” 1, 5 and 10 h daily named groups II, III and IV; respectively. Group V irradiated with cell-phone on “Active-mode” one hour daily. After 30 days irradiation, 50 males and 50 females were kept 24 h to assess their embryos. Fifty males were scarified to evaluate both in vitro and in vivo parameters, and 50 females received PMSG & HCG for both quantitative and qualitative evaluation. Comparing groups III, IV and V with control-group showed significantly decreased in the number of two-cell embryos (p = .000); however, a significant increase was found in the number of dead embryos (p = .000). Furthermore, 5 h daily irradiation significantly decreased grade-A embryos (p = .015); while, it significantly increased grade-B, C and D embryos (p-values = 0.026, 0.007, 0.006; respectively). Moreover, comparing groups IV and V to control-group, significant increase was found in pregnancy duration (p = .005, p = .009; respectively). However, in the mentioned groups a significant decrease was seen in number of newborn mice (p = .001, p = .004; respectively). In conclusion our findings showed that the cell-phone radiation can affect development of embryos as well as the number of newborn and pregnancy duration in NMRI-mouse, which might be a significant cause of reproductive failure. Keywords: Fertility, IVF, RF, Cell-phone, Embryo