ToxStrategies scientists have published a new research article assessing the in vivo genotoxicity of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] following ingestion via drinking water, in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. This new article is an extension of our earlier paper demonstrating the lack of mutagenic response in the oral mucosa of Big Blue® TgF344 rats exposed to 180,000 ppb Cr(VI). The latest article examines the mutagenic response in duodenum tissues archived from our previous study. Similar to the previous study, exposure to Cr(VI) did not significantly alter mutant frequency, whereas the positive control (ethylnitrosourea) increased the mutant frequency several fold.
These latest findings add to previous data indicating that Cr(VI) is unlikely to act via a direct mutagenic mode of action in the tissues that developed tumors following exposure to very high concentrations of Cr(VI). The trace metal Cr(VI) is typically present in water sources at low levels (typically ≤3 ppb), from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Our findings using high Cr(VI) concentrations indicate that low environmental levels are unlikely to pose a mutagenic risk to the duodenum or oral mucosa. An audio slide presentation of the data contained in this new paper can be found here.
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