Introduction:
The increasing use of electromagnetic field generators in our daily life in one hand and on contradictory reports on the effects of their waves on public health on the other hand encourages scientists to do more and more research work in this field. One of the most important topics is the study of gene defect due to microwave radiation.
Materials and Methods:
In this study, 48 Balb/c adult (8-9 weeks old) male mice were randomly divided into six groups, five of which as test (exposure) groups and the sixth as the control group. The mice in the test groups were exposed to 900 &1800 MHz commonly used in mobile telecommunication. Microwaves produced by a Mobile wave generator were induced on the mouse for half an hour, one hour, tow hours and four hours twice a day (0.5h×2, 1h×2, 2h×2 & 4h×2) and four hours once a day (4h). Control groups were kept in the same living conditions as test groups. After 30 consecutive days, hippocampus was separated and the total RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis was carried out. Bax and Bcl-2 genes expression was quantified by Real-Time RT-PCR.
Results:
Results showed that Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression average increased with exposure time during the frist hour of exposure time, after which it was decreased. Comparison of Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression average showed significant difference in some groups. Bax to Bcl-2 gene expression ratio in all test groups was over 1 ( 1). The difference between Bax and Bcl-2 gene expression in all groups was not significant (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
on the results of this research we concluded that microwave radiation (900&1800MHz) could cause expression changes of Bax and Bcl-2 genes in hippocampal formation of Balb/c mouse brain. These changes depended on the duration of exposure. Effects of longer exposure time (4h×2) may cause apoptosis in hippocampal formation.