Frequency of micronuclei in the blood and bone marrow cells of mice exposed to ultra-wideband electromagnetic radiation.

Vijayalaxmi, Seaman RL, Belt ML, Doyle JM, Mathur SP, Prihoda TJ

Int J Radiat Biol 75(1):115-120, 1999

PURPOSE: To investigate the extent of genetic damage in the peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of mice exposed to ultra-wideband electromagnetic radiation (UWBR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: CF-1 male mice were exposed to UWBR for 15 min at an estimated whole-body average specific absorption rate of 37 mW x kg(-1). Groups of untreated control and positive control mice injected with mitomycin C were also included in the study. After various treatments, half of the mice were killed at 18 h, and the other half at 24 h. Peripheral blood and bone marrow smears were examined to determine the extent of genotoxicity, as assessed by the presence of micronuclei (MN) in polychromatic erythrocytes (PCE).

RESULTS: The percentages of PCE and the incidence of MN per 2000 PCE in both tissues in mice killed at 18 h were similar to the frequencies observed in mice terminated at 24 h. There were no significant differences in the percentage of PCE between control and the mice with or without UWBR exposure; the group mean values (+/- standard deviation) were in the range of 3.1+/-0.14 to 3.2+/-0.23 in peripheral blood, and 49.0+/-3.56 to 52.3+/-4.02 in bone marrow.

The mean incidence of MN per 2000 PCE in control and in mice with or without UWBR exposure ranged from 7.7+/-2.00 to 9.7+/-2.54 in peripheral blood and 7.4+/-2.32 to 10.0+/-3.27 in bone marrow. Pairwise comparison of the data did not reveal statistically significant differences between the control and mice with or without UWBR exposure groups (excluding positive controls).

CONCLUSION: Under the experimental conditions tested, there was no evidence for excess genotoxicity in peripheral blood or bone marrow cells of mice exposed to UWBR.