Purification and chromium-excretory function of low-molecular-weight, chromium-binding substances from dog liver

From liver of dogs injected iv with potassium dichromate (38 mg/kg body wt), a low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance (LMCr) was purified into two subfractions, LMCr I and LMCr II, which differ in physical and chemical properties. LMCr I was identified to be an anionic, organic chromium compound with a molecular weight of 1500. It contained glutamic acid, glycine, and cysteine as the predominant amino acids and firmly bound chromium in a ratio of one chromium(III) to one molecule of LMCr I. LMCr II was isolated in crystalline form and demonstrated to be a water-soluble, inorganic chromium(III) complex consisting of Na2HPO4 . 7H2O and Na2HPO4 . 2H2O. Although its crystallization reduced the chromium content, it had a maximum chromium-binding capacity as much as one chromium per one phosphorus in water. The mixture of LMCr I and LMCr II as approximated to be the natural composition showed a lower acute toxicity as measured by lethality in mice and had higher rates of urinary excretion and renal clearance in rabbits, accompanied by lower rates of renal tubular reabsorption and retention in kidney and liver than potassium dichromate(VI) and chromium(III) chloride. Pretreatment with chromium-free LMCr II remarkably reduced the mortality rates of mice acutely poisoned with chromium chloride. These results indicate that LMCr plays an important role in the detoxification and excretion of chromium in mammals.