Genotoxicity of vanadium pentoxide in Chinese hamster V79 cells

Workers in many mining and manufacturing industries are potentially exposed to vanadium. Inhalation of dust containing vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), a pentavalent compound of vanadium, has been reported to cause lung diseases. Information related to the genotoxicity and potential carcinogenicity of V2O5, however, is still limited. In this study, the effect of V2O5 on mitosis, sister-chromatid exchange (SCE), micronucleus formation (MN), and gene mutation in Chinese hamster V79 cells was determined. Cells were treated with varying concentrations of V2O5 for 24 h. The results showed that no significant increases in the frequencies of SCE or gene mutation occurred in V2O5-treated cultures. However, dose-related increases were noted for micronucleated cells in cultures exposed to this compound, and the number of binucleated cells in the presence of cytochalasin B was found to decrease with increasing V2O5 concentrations. Since the micronucleated cells induced by V2O5 contained kinetochore-positive micronuclei, their induction appears to be due to damage to the spindle apparatus. These results indicate that V2O5 is cytotoxic and aneuploidogenic to V79 cells.