| Effects of Loud Noise Exposure on DNA Integrity in Rat Adrenal Gland Giada Frenzilli, Paola Lenzi, Vittoria Scarcelli, Francesco Fornai, Antonio Pellegrini, Paola Soldani, Antonio Paparelli, and Marco Nigro Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana e Biologia Applicata, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy Abstract
Loud noise is generally considered an environmental stressor causing negative effects on acoustic, cardiovascular, nervous, and endocrine systems. In this study, we investigated the effects of noise exposure on DNA integrity in rat adrenal gland evaluated by the comet assay. The exposure to loud noise (100 dBA) for 12 hr caused a significant increase of DNA damage in the adrenal gland. Genetic alterations did not decrease 24 hr after the cessation of the stimulus. We hypothesize that an imbalance of redox cell status is responsible for the induction and persistence of noise-induced cellular damage. Key words: adrenal gland, comet assay, DNA damage, loud noise, rat. Environ Health Perspect 112:1671-1672 (2004) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7249 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 22 September 2004]
Address correspondence to G. Frenzilli, Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana e Biologia Applicata, Sez. Biologia e Genetica University of Pisa, Via Volta, 4-56126 Pisa, Italy. Telephone: 39-050-2219111. Fax: 39-050-2219101. E-mail: giada@biomed.unipi.it We gratefully acknowledge C. Ghezzani for his excellent technical assistance in the image analysis. This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Research and by the University of Pisa. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 12 May 2004 ; accepted 22 September 2004.
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