Exposure levels will therefore be determined indirectly by quantifying levels of sulfur mustard adducts to DNA and protein, in samples of human blood and skin. Mustard gas can damage hemoglobin and cause a type of damaged hemoglobin called an adduct. First, a method of analysis will be developed to detect the mustard gas adduct with human hemoglobin. These populations will also be surveyed for reproductive difficulties and for developmental problems in their children. The correlation between verified exposure to mustard gas and reproductive and developmental problems will be investigated.
Nitrogen mustard is used as a surrogate for sulfur mustard chemical weapon agents.
Tissue cultures made from human skin, mouse brain, and rat brain are treated with nitrogen mustard. DNA is then isolated from the tissue cultures, and the DNA is analyzed for a form of damage called DNA adducts. This project is designed to investigate a possible relationship between nitrogen mustard exposure, DNA damage, and cell damage in nervous tissue. The results of the first experiments are available. Two types of rodent brain cells, glial cells and neurons, were treated with nitrogen mustard.