[Genotoxic effects of vanadium compounds]

Vanadium is a metal member of the periodic table VB group, with atomic weight 59.95 and atomic number 23 and it has some oxidizing states from -1 to +5. Vanadium has many industrial uses and its contribution with environmental contamination is growing every day. In the last 10 years research about the vanadium effects on living beings, has been increasing substantially, due to its presence in the environment from different sources. Interest for vanadium and their compounds is because its toxic effects and uses in some biomedical areas: such as antineoplastic, cholesterol and glucose level blood, diuretic, oxygen haemoglobin affinity. Vanadium toxic effects are so due to the fact of its property of inhibiting many enzymatic systems. Vanadate and vanadyl ions make chemical complexes exhibiting the property of inhibiting or increasing the activity of the enzymes participating in the DNA and RNA synthesis. They also induce mutagenic and genotoxic effects. Biochemical assays show cytotoxic effects, increase in the cellular differentiation, gene expression alterations and other biochemical and metabolic alterations. Research has been done with in vitro systems, but few with laboratory animals. It is necessary to carry out more work in the field of genetic toxicology with vanadium compounds. This type of compounds may be considered mutagenic and genotoxic, with cytotoxic and aneuploidogenous effects.