Duration-Dependent Lung Injury Induced by High-Intensity Electric Field Exposure: Histopathological and Immunoinflammatory Insights
Akın S.E. İmeci O. Aşcı H. Ulusoy A. Milletsever A. Özmen Ö. Çömlekçi S.
October 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
2025#26Issue 20
Patients undergoing thoracic surgery or intensive care are frequently exposed to high-voltage electric fields generated by medical devices; however, the duration-dependent effects of such exposure on lung tissue remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the histopathological and immunoinflammatory effects of exposure to a uniform 10 kV/m electric field for varying durations using a rat model. Thirty-five adult female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to five groups (n = 7): control, and 1, 5, 15, and 30 min exposure groups. Lung tissues were analyzed histologically with hematoxylin and eosin staining, and the immunohistochemical expression of IL-1β, RANKL, and TNF-α was semi-quantitatively assessed. Histopathological examination revealed a duration-dependent increase in lung injury, with the 30 min group showing marked epithelial loss, mononuclear infiltration, edema, and vascular congestion (p < 0.001). The expression of IL-1β, RANKL, and TNF-α remained minimal in the 1–15 min groups but was significantly elevated in the 30 min group (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that prolonged exposure to high-voltage electric fields induces substantial pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage, indicating the presence of a threshold beyond which inflammatory pathways are abruptly activated. These results highlight the importance of establishing safety guidelines for electric field exposure in clinical settings.
acute-phase reactants , electric field , lung injury , pulmonary inflammation , thoracic surgery
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Department of Thoracic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye, Isparta, 32260, Kazakhstan
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, 32260, Turkey
Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, 32260, Turkey
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, 15030, Turkey
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye, Isparta, 32260, Kazakhstan
Department of Thoracic Surgery
Department of Pharmacology
Department of Bioengineering
Department of Pathology
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
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