Studies on the genotoxicity of chromium: from the test tube to the cell

A critical review of the relevance of in vitro chemical studies to Cr-induced cancers is given. In particular, the nature of the most likely reductants. the species that stabilise intermediates and the mechanisms of DNA damage and damage to transcription proteins are discussed. It is concluded that the major damaging species responsible for the genotoxicity include Cr(V), Cr(IV) and/or reactive organic intermediates, These studies on the chemistry are also related to spectroscopic and other studies on mammalian cells. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.