Uptake of Cr (VI) and Cr (III)-GSH complex across rat liver cell nuclei

Cr (VI) is a known carcinogen that readily crosses the cellular membrane and is then reduced by intracellular reductants such as reduced glutathione (GSH) to Cr (III), forming various reactive intermediate compounds (Ding and Shi, 2002). The interaction of Cr (VI) and GSH is known to be one of the causes of DNA damage in vitro (Mazzer et al., 2007). This study investigates the occurrence of Cr (III)-GSH in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes incubated with Cr (VI), and the uptake of Cr (VI) and Cr (III)-GSH complex across rat liver cell nuclei. Cr (III)-GSH complex was synthesised by the method of Levina et al. (2003), and its formation confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).