The aim of this study was to investigate the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) effects on neuronal apoptosis in vitro. Primary cultured neurons from cortices of embryonic Wistar rats were exposed to a 900-MHz global system for mobile communication (GSM) RF field for 24 h in a wire-patch cell. The average-specific absorption rate (SAR) used was 0.25 W/kg. Apoptosis rate was assessed immediately or 24 h after exposure using three methods: (i) DAPI staining; (ii) flow cytometry using double staining with TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and propidium iodide (PI); and (iii) measurement of caspase-3 activity by fluorimetry. No statistically significant difference in the apoptosis rate was observed between controls and 24 h GSM-exposed neurons, either 0 h or 24 h post-exposure. All three methods used to assess apoptosis were concordant. These results showed that, under the conditions of experiment used, GSM-exposure does not significantly increase the apoptosis rate in rat primary neuronal cultures. This work is in accordance with other studies performed on cell lines and, to our knowledge, is the first one performed on cultured cortical neurons.
For bioelectromagnetic studies, a complete dosimetry is essential for optimised experiments and for analysis of the biological results. In this paper, we focused on the numerical dosimetry based on electromagnetic, thermal and convection simulations. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is used to obtain electromagnetic fields and specific absorption rate (SAR) distributions. Often metallic losses exist and cannot be neglected, and they are considered with SAR spatial distribution to evaluate temperature elevation. Time-scaled algorithms of heat transfer equation and incompressible Navier-Stokes equations applied to in vitro bioelectromagnetic studies are presented. For hydrodynamic thermal convection, the biological medium density has to be considered variable and the heat masses can move. Two different in vitro exposure systems are presented. A test tube with high temperature gradient induced in the biological medium is studied and illustrate convection phenomena. A wire patch cell with metallic elements highlights the role of metallic losses in the increase of temperature.
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