Effect of Radiofrequency Exposure from a 900 MHz Cellular Phone on the Liver of Pregnant Rats

Objectives To study the radiation of a 900 MHz cellular phone on the liver structure and function of pregnant SD rats.

Methods Twenty pregnant SD rats were selected and randomly divided into a normal group and a model group. The rats in the normal group were not radiated, and the rats in model group were radiated for 4 hours each day in 20 days. The rats were sacrificed by abdominal cavity anesthesia at the end of the experiment. Serum ALT, AST levels were tested by colorimetric method; the histomorphologic change of livers was examined by HE staining and the expression of bax and bcl-2 protein was analyzed by immunohistochemical method.

Results Compared with the normal group, the rats in the model group showed a higher serum ALT, appeared partial degeneration and necrosis of liver cell by HE staining, and a higher expression of bax protein and lower expression of bcl-2 protein analyzed by immunohistochemical method.

Conclusions There was an extremely bad influence of exposure of a 900 MHz cellular phone during gestation on the liver structure and liver function, and an increase of liver apoptosis and induced liver damage.