Resistance to sulfur mustard: a comparison of some properties of strain L cells and a resistant subline.

A line of cells (L/H) that was resistant to sulfur mustard has been isolated and compared in a number of ways to the parent line of L cells. Both strains had an average of 57 chromosomes. The L/H cells were smaller than the L cells, and contained lower concentrations of acid-soluble sulfhydryl compounds. In experi ments with sulfur mustard-36S, the whole cell, nucleus, and DXA of the resistant line were found to contain less mustard than the corresponding units of the parent line. For both lines, of the amount of mustard found in the whole cell, an equal proportion was found in the nucleus; of the amount of mustard found in the nucleus, a lesser proportion was associated with the DXA of the resistant cell than with the DXA of the parent cell. The smaller uptake of mustard by L/H cells and their nuclei can be accounted for by their smaller volume; some other factor appears to govern the disproportionately smaller amount found associated with tho DNA.