Effects of Wi-Fi (2.45 Gh Z) Exposure on Apoptosis, Sperm Parameters and Testicular Histomorphometry in Rats: A Time Course Study

Objective: in today’s world, 2.45-ghz radio-frequency radiation (rfr) from industrial,scientific, medical, military and domestic applications is the main part of indoor-outdoorelectromagnetic field exposure. long-term effects of 2.45-ghz wi-fi radiation on malereproductive system was not known completely. therefore, this study aimed to investigatethe major cause of male infertility during short- and long-term exposure of wi-fi radiation.materials and methods: this is an animal experimental study, which was conducted inthe department of anatomical sciences, faculty of medicine, zanjan university of medicalsciences, zanjan, iran, from june to august 2014. three-month-old male wistar rats(n=27) were exposed to the 2.45 ghz radiation in a chamber with two wi-fi antennas onopposite walls. animals were divided into the three following groups: i. control group (n=9)including healthy animals without any exposure to the antenna, ii. 1-hour group (n=9) exposedto the 2.45 ghz wi-fi radiation for 1 hour per day during two months and iii.7-hourgroup (n=9) exposed to the 2.45 ghz wi-fi radiation for 7 hours per day during 2 months.sperm parameters, caspase-3 concentrations, histomorphometric changes of testis in additionto the apoptotic indexes were evaluated in the exposed and control animals.results: both 1-hour and 7-hour groups showed a decrease in sperm parameters in atime dependent pattern. in parallel, the number of apoptosis-positive cells and caspase-3activity increased in the seminiferous tubules of exposed rats. the seminal vesicle weightreduced significantly in both1-hour or 7-hour groups in comparison to the control group.conclusion: regarding to the progressive privilege of 2.45 ghz wireless networks inour environment, we concluded that there should be a major concern regarding the timedependentexposure of whole-body to the higher frequencies of wi-fi networks existing inthe vicinity of our living places.