Cellular retention, cytotoxicity and morphological transformation by vanadium(IV) and vanadium(V) in BALB/3T3 cell lines.

Cytotoxicity, morphological transformation and cellular retention have been studied in BALB/3T3 Cl A 31-1-1 cells for ammonium or sodium vanadate [vanadium(V)] and for vanadyl sulphate [vanadium(IV)]. A morphological transformation focus assay showed transforming activity for vanadium(V) (P less than 0.005 at concentrations of 3 x 10(-6) or higher) while vanadium(IV) was not transforming in the cells. Cytotoxicity was higher for vanadium(V) than for vanadium(IV); this was particularly clear at doses from 5 x 10(-6) to 5 x 10(-5) M. The cellular retention of both vanadate and vanadyl compounds at 24, 48 and 72 h incubation was similar. At concentrations lower than 10(-6) M vanadate, the retention was linear with the dose, while at higher exposures the vanadium taken up by the cells levelled off or slightly decreased. Exposure to 10(-6) M and 10(-5) M vanadium(V) for 3 and 24 h as well as to 10(-6) M for 48 and 72 h yielded greater than 94% vanadium in the cytosol, but exposure to a toxic dose (10(-5) M) for 48 and 72 h yielded 20% vanadium associated with cellular organelles, which suggests that some sites in the cytosol become saturated with vanadium. The corresponding gel-filtration experiments indicate that a redistribution of the element among the cytosol components occurs with time.