Ultrastructural Correlates of Sulfur Mustard Toxicity

Standardized ultrastructural technology was used to study subcellular effects of sulfur mustard (HD) on (1) human lymphocytes in vitro, (2) human keratinocytes in culture, and (3) the skin of the hairless guinea pig. While doses of mustard differed according to the dictates of individual protocols, all specimens were gathered 24 hours following exposure, aldehyde fixed, and processed for transmission and scanning electron microscopy. In the hairless guinea pig model the subcellular effects on basal cells of the stratum germinativum and the generation of microblisters at the dermal-epidermal junction were unequivocal to that reported for human-skin grafted to cogenitally athymic nude mice. Keywords: Sulfur mustard (HD), Toxicity, Lymphocytes in vitro, Keratinocytes in culture, Skin, Ultrastructure, Pathology.