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Sex-dependent impact of perinatal 5G electromagnetic field exposure in the adolescent rat behavior

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Abstract

The fifth generation (5G) network is currently being worldwide spread out, raising questions about the potential impact of this new technology, particularly on immature organisms. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of daily 5G electromagnetic field (EMF) perinatal exposure on the neurodevelopment of rats. The exposure level was set to the limit of whole-body public exposure defined by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. The mother rat specific absorption rate (SAR) was 0.07 W/kg for 22 h/day at 3500 MHz continuous wave from gestational day (GD) 8 to post-natal day (PND) 21. Clinical observations were performed on weight, length, sex ratio, number of pups per litter, and number of stillborn in sham and EMF-exposed groups (n = 7). The age of pinna ear detachment, incisor eruption, and eye opening were recorded. Behavior was assessed on righting, gripping, and negative geotaxis reflexes at PND 3 or 7 and on stereotyped and horizontal movements in the open field at PND 43. Our results indicated that both male and female pups showed delayed incisor eruption in the EMF-exposed group compared to the sham group (+ 1 day). Regarding activity in the open field, adolescent females showed less stereotyped movements (− 70%), while adolescent males showed more stereotyped movements (+ 50%) compared to the sham-exposed adolescent rats. Thus, the present study suggested that perinatal exposure to 5G at SAR level below reglementary threshold led to perturbations in the descendants seen in juveniles and adolescents.

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Funding

This work was funded by the French Ministry of Ecology Program 190.

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Contributions

Raphaël Bodin, Stéphane Delanaud, Amandine Pelletier, and Anne-Sophie Villegier contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Raphaël Bodin, Chandreshwar Seewooruttun, Aurélie Corona, Stéphane Delanaud, Amandine Pelletier, and Anne-Sophie Villegier. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Raphaël Bodin. Chandreshwar Seewooruttun, Aurélie Corona, Stéphane Delanaud, Amandine Pelletier, and Anne-Sophie Villegier read, commented, and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Anne-Sophie Villégier.

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Ethical approval

Protocols complied with the decree on vertebrate animal experiments (French State Council, 1987) and were approved by the Regional Ethical Committee N. 96 (CREMEAP) and the French Ministry of Research.

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All individual participants gave their oral and written informed consent in this work.

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All authors agreed to publish this manuscript.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Bodin, R., Seewooruttun, C., Corona, A. et al. Sex-dependent impact of perinatal 5G electromagnetic field exposure in the adolescent rat behavior. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 113704–113717 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30256-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30256-7

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