Pulsed or continuous electromagnetic field induce p53/p21-mediated apoptotic signaling pathway in mouse spermatogenic cells in vitro and thus may affect male fertility

•Electromagnetic field (EMF) present in environment impairs human health.•EMF induced effects on cellular and biochemical features in spermatogenic cell.•EMF induced oxidative and nitrosative stress-mediated DNA damage.•EMF induced p53/p21- dependent cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.•EMF-induced effects contribute to infertility by reduction in healthy sperm pool.

The impact of electromagnetic field (EMF) on the human health and surrounding environment is a common topic investigated over the years. A significant increase in the electromagnetic field concentration arouses public concern about the long-term effects of EMF on living organisms associated with many aspects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of pulsed and continuous electromagnetic field (PEMF/CEMF) on mouse spermatogenic cell lines (GC-1 spg and GC-2 spd) in terms of cellular and biochemical features in vitro. We evaluated the effect of EMF on mitochondrial metabolism, morphology, proliferation rate, viability, cell cycle progression, oxidative stress balance and regulatory proteins. Our results strongly suggest that EMF induces oxidative and nitrosative stress-mediated DNA damage, resulting in p53/p21-dependent cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Therefore, spermatogenic cells due to the lack of antioxidant enzymes undergo oxidative and nitrosative stress-mediated cytotoxic and genotoxic events, which contribute to infertility by reduction in healthy sperm cells pool. In conclusion, electromagnetic field present in surrounding environment impairs male fertility by inducing p53/p21-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.