Structural Changes Induced by Sulphur Mustard in Rabbit Skin

✍ Scribed by R. S. Chauhan; L. V. R. Murthy; Usha Arora; P. R. Malhotra

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 558 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0260-437X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1263(199611)16:6<491::aid-jat378>3.0.co;2-w

✦ Synopsis

Sulphur mustard (SM) is a bifunctional alkylating agent which can react with a wide variety of molecules of biological interest. The interaction of SM with animal skin elicits a varied histopathological response in cellular components on a temporal scale. The extracellular matrix (ECM) undergoes tremendous structural changes as a result of SM exposure. Sulphur mustard induces oedema, infiltration of polymorphonuclear cells and destruction of cells. Injury appeared to be most severe on the third day after exposure, when the thickness of the skin registered the maximum change from the control. The initiation of recovery could be noticed on the 6th day, when the intercellular gap in the ECM began to reduce significantly, indicating reformation of damaged skin. Simultaneous reformation was also noticed in the epidermis and other cellular components. However, recovery was far from complete and continued beyond the 6th day.