Lipoic acid inhibits cognitive impairment induced by multiple cell phones in young male rats: role of Sirt1 and Atg7 pathway

The utilization of digital technology has grown rapidly in the past three decades. With this rapid increase, cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation; that is why electromagnetic field (EMF) has become a substantial new pollution source in modern civilization, mainly having adverse effects on the brain. While such a topic attracted many researchers’ scopes, there are still minimal discoveries made regarding chronic exposure to EMF. The extensive use of cell phones may affect children's cognition even indirectly if parents and guardians used their phones repeatedly near them. This study aims to investigate possible lipoic acid (LA) effects on cognitive functions and hippocampal structure in young male rats exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted from multiple cell phones. Forty young male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into three groups: control, multiple cell phones-exposed and lipoic acid-treated rats. By the end of the experimental period, the Morris water maze was used as a cognitive test. The rats were sacrificed for the collection of serum and hippocampal tissue. These serum samples were then utilized for assessment of Liver function tests. The level ofglutamate, acetylcholine (Ach) and malondialdehyde (MDA) was estimated, in addition to evaluating the expression of autophagy-related protein-7 (Atg7) and Sirt1 genes. The left hippocampal specimens were used for histopathological studies. Results showed that multiple cell phone-exposed rats exhibited shorter latency time to reach the platform by the fifth day of training; additionally, there was a reduction in consolidation of spatial long-term memory. Correspondingly, there was an elevation of hippocampal Ach, glutamate, and MDA levels; accompanied by up-regulation of hippocampal Sirt1 and Atg7 gene expression. Compared to the EMF-exposed group, LA administration improved both learning and memory, this was proved by the significant decline in hippocampal MDA and Ach levels, the higher hippocampal glutamate, the downregulated hippocampal Sirt1 gene expression and the upregulated Atg7 gene expression. In conclusion, EMF exposure could enhance learning ability; however, it interfered with long-term memory consolidation shown by higher hippocampal Ach levels. Lipoic acid treatment improved both learning and memory by enhancing autophagy and hippocampal glutamate level and by the reduced Ach levels and Sirt1 gene expression.