Effects of radiofrequency radiation on rabbit kidney: a morphological and immunological study

The histopathology of the acute and chronic kidney reaction to low-frequency nonionizing electromagnetic radiation was evaluated in New Zealand white rabbits treated with multiple exposure to 27.12-MHz radiofrequencies. At the end of treatment, the animals exhibited focal tubular necrosis and focal and segmental glomerular sclerosis which in a few months evolved into a membranous nephropathy. The latter was characterized by a diffuse, granular localization of rabbit gamma-globulin and complement in most glomeruli and by electron-dense deposits in the subepithelial zone of the glomerular capillary walls, suggesting that these glomerular changes are induced by the localization of antigen-antibody complexes. The data obtained provide strong evidence for the potential nephrotoxicity of radiofrequency radiation and indicate that these nonionizing types of radiation may be capable of eliciting autoimmune phenomena that are likely responsible for the evolution of renal disease in rabbits.