Summary.-The cytotoxic effects of hexavalent (K2Cr2O7) and trivalent (CrCl3) chromium compounds have been studied in cultured hamster fibroblasts (BHK line) and human epithelial-like cells (HEp line HEp cells turned out to be more sensitive to K2Cr2O7 than BHK fibroblasts: in the former line TdR uptake is less stimulated, DNA synthesis and cell survival are more affected. Survival of BHK cells to K2Cr2O7 indicates a multi-hit mechanism of cell inactivation, the extrapolation number being about 10.On the basis of quantitative Cr determinations in the treatment solutions and in the treated cells, the cytotoxic effects of Cr are attributed to the action of Cr6+ at the plasma membrane level on the mechanisms involved in nucleoside uptake, and to the interaction of Cr3+ at the intracellular level with nucleophilic targets on the DNA molecule.

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