Effects of paternal 5G RFR exposure on health of male offspring mice

With the widespread application of 5G communication technology, the potential health risks of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) have been paid much attention. Prior studies have demonstrated that the testes are highly sensitive to RFR, and notably, paternal epigenetic modifications can be transmitted to offspring, impacting their reproductive and neurobehavioral phenotypes. To investigate the intergenerational effects of paternal exposure to 5 G RFR on male offspring health, 7-8-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into Sham group and 4.9 GHz RFR group (16 mice per group). The mice in 4.9 GHz RFR group were exposed to 4.9 GHz RFR for 1 h/d over 42 consecutive days. Male offspring derived from exposed males and unexposed females were raised to adulthood. Anxiety and depression-like behaviors, learning and memory capabilities, sperm quality, and fertility in male offspring were assessed. Paternal testicular LRGUK gene (sperm motility-related) methylation, mRNA, and protein expression were detected. The results showed that paternal 5G RFR exposure induced anxiety-like behaviors and impaired sperm quality in F1 males, potentially associated with RFR-induced hypermethylation of paternal LRGUK gene and subsequent down regulation of its expression in offspring testes. No significant effects were observed on depression-like behaviors, cognitive performance, or fertility across F1-F2 generations. These findings indicated that paternal 5G RFR exposure induced intergenerational adverse effects on F1 males, potentially mediated by germ cell epigenetic modifications.