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Mechanisms of chromium-induced toxicity
Open accessAbstract
Chromium is a pervasive environmental contaminant that is of great importance because of its toxicity. Hexavalent chromium is a classified group 1 carcinogen with multiple complex mechanisms by which it triggers cancer development. Increased levels of oxidative stress, chromosome breaks, and DNA-adduct formation are some of the major mechanisms by which C(VI) causes cellular damage. Trivalent chromium is another species of chromium that is described as a non-essential metal, and is used in nutritional supplementation. Evidence on nutritional benefit is conflicting which could suggest that humans absorb enough Cr(III) from diet alone, and that extra supplementation is not necessary. This review highlights the differences between Cr(VI) and Cr(III) from a chemical and toxicological perspective, describes short-comings in nutritional research of Cr(III), and explains the multiple mechanisms by which Cr(VI) is involved in the process of carcinogenesis.
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“Cr(III) is generally non-toxic and is an essential agent in animal and human metabolisms2.”
From Optimized removal of hexavalent chromium from water using spent tea leaves treated with ascorbic acid (2022) · cites this paper as [2]
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“Cr(VI) is known to induce lung cancer, skin irritation, and damage to kidneys, livers, and gastric systems2,4.”
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“However, Cr(VI) is hazardous to living organisms due to its mutagenicity and carcinogenicity2 and is among 129 critical pollutants identified by the US EPA3.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- DesMarias, T. L., & Costa, M.
- Affiliations
- New York University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Costa, Max
- ORCID
- Costa, Max
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Toxicology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-04
- Volume
- 14
- Pages
- 1-7
- ISSN
- 2468-2020 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6737927
- OpenAlex
- W2946723057
- Cited by
- 492
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 67 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 93 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 4.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Toxicology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Chromium effects and bioremediation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Carcinogens and Genotoxicity Assessment
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
- Keywords
- chromium toxicity, hexavalent chromium, trivalent chromium, carcinogenesis, oxidative stress, DNA adducts, chromosome breakage, environmental pollutants, chromium supplementation
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