Peroxochromium(IV) complexes are putative DNA-damaging and mutagenic agents in chromium(VI)-mediated carcinogenesis. The reaction between aquaethylenediaminebis(peroxo)chromium(IV) and glutathione at neutral pH exhibits a cyclic redox process displaying a persistent recycling of Cr(IV) and Cr(VI) with the intervention of chromium(V) intermediates. The coordination by a glutathione molecule triggers an autooxidation of the Cr(IV)-peroxo complex to Cr(VI) via an internal electron-transfer process followed by reduction to Cr(IV) via metastable chromium(V) intermediates. The cycle is repeated by the second peroxo species. The Cr(V) and -(IV) intermediates have been characterized as mono- and bisglutathionato complexes with or without a coordinated peroxo moiety. These intermediates are capable of damaging DNA, as evidenced by single strand breaks and DNA oxidation. The implication here is that the potential for a persistent, if not perpetual, deadly chromium carcinogenic cycle exists in the cellular milieu through the assistance of molecular oxygen and glutathione.
Chromium (VI) is carcinogenic through intermediates formed in the cellular milieu by reduction with small reductants like glutathione (GSH), ascorbate (As), cysteine (Cys) and NADPH. Although the reduction of chromate by thiols have been investigated, the participation of Cr(IV) intermediates has been inferred only indirectly due to its refractive behavior towards EPR spectroscopy and the lack of true chromium (IV) complexes for comparative studies. Biological data from numerous reports indicate that Cr(IV) is the species most likely responsible for the carcinogenicity of Cr(VI). Our kinetic studies suggested that in acidic solutions the reduction of chromate with GSH affords mostly a chromium(IV) intermediate. As a step towards the full characterization of the paramagnetic species involved in the reduction of chromate by thiols at neutral pH, we embarked in the investigation of this reaction using the Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) Magnetic Property Measuring System®. Our results indicate a strong influence of the temperature. At 2K, the saturation magnetization method was applied to the frozen reaction when it reached the peak of formation of intermediates. Contrary to our expectations, the contributions were calculated to be 30 % of Cr(IV) and 69 % of Cr(V) at this pH. When the Curie-Weiss method was utilized, the effective magnetic moment was dependent on the portion of the data utilized and generally higher proportion of Cr(IV) was found when the fitting is performed with data from higher temperature.
Chromium (VI) is carcinogenic through intermediates formed in the cellular milieu by reduction with small reductants like glutathione (GSH), ascorbate, cysteine, and NADPH. Although the reduction of chromate by thiols has been investigated, the participation of Cr(IV) intermediates has been inferred only indirectly due to the Cr(IV) refractive behavior towards EPR spectroscopy. Biological data from numerous reports indicate that Cr(IV) is the species most likely responsible for the carcinogenicity of Cr(VI). Our kinetic studies suggested that in acidic solutions, glycine buffer at pH 2.8, the reduction of chromate with GSH involves mostly a chromium(IV) intermediate. As a step towards the full characterization of the paramagnetic species involved in the reduction of chromate by thiols at neutral pH, we embarked on an investigation of the reduction of chromate with GSH in glycine buffer at pH 2.8 using a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer. Our results indicate a strong influence of temperature and confirm the presence of Cr(IV). At 2 K, the saturation magnetization method was applied to the frozen reaction when it reached the peak of formation of intermediates and the contributions were calculated to be 30% of Cr(IV) and 69% of Cr(V). When the Curie-Weiss method was applied to determine the effective magnetic moment, the use of the linear portion of the curve, 100-200 K, yielded 58% Cr(IV) and 42% Cr(V); when data from the region below the temperature of liquid N 2 (77 K) is employed, the intermediate is exclusively Cr(IV).
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