Chemical Production of Mutations

An Experimental Study of the Initiating Stage of Carcinogenesis, and a Re-examination of the Somatic Cell Mutation Theory of Cancer

“…mustard gas) by Auerbach andRobson (1946, 1947), helped to extend the field of enquiry, and made possible detailed comparisons between carcinogenic and mutagenic activity of various compounds, especially among the polycyclic hydrocarbons.…”

“…As already mentioned, mustard gas is a potent mutagenic agent on drosophila (Auerbach andRobson, 1946, 1947). Since its anti-carcinogenic properties (Berenblum, 1929(Berenblum, , 1931 can undoubtedly be attributed to antipromoting action, it was to be expected, according to the somatic cell mutation theory, that when allowed to act once only on mouse's skin, followed by repeated croton oil treatment, tumours should have arisen, the mustard gas acting as an initiator by virtue of its mutagenic properties.…”

“…Mustard gas is known to possess mutagenic properties when tested on Drosophila (Auerbach andRobson, 1946, 1947), and on Neurospora and E. coli (Tatum, 1947), so that, according to the somatic cell mutation theory, this compound should act as a carcinogenic initiator. Admittedly, mustard gas is a potent anti-carcinogenic agent (Berenblum, 1929), but this effect was shown to be confined to the later stages of carcinogenesis (Berenblum, 1929(Berenblum, , 1931, and could thus be attributed to an anti-promoting action; thus, mustard gas should, theoretically, still be capable of initiating action.…”

The Role of Drosophila in Chemical Mutagenesis Testing

“…Chemical mutagens often show a cellular specificity (3) and failure to detect mutagenic activity may result from a stage-specific response.…”

Regulatory Mechanisms of Cellular Respiration

“…Whether the --SH groups which are reported to be essential for cellular growth and division are of a protein nature or are peptides like glutathione or free amino acids like cysteine had not yet been determined, although Rapkine has suggested that cell division is preceded by "une denaturation des proteiques, celle-ci liberant des radicaux sulfhydryles qui en s'oxidant reduiront les groupements --S --S --en groupements --SH." Oxidation of the --SH groups of enzymes by ionizing radiations (15), and mutations (similar to those found in irradiation) produced b y --S H alklylating agents such as sulfur and nitrogen mustards (16,17) has demonstrated the importance of sulfhydryl groups in biology. We present in this paper experiments on the effect of sulfhydryl reagents on the respiration of sea urchin sperm, which are, in our opinion, proof of the existence in these cells of soluble sulfhydryl groups acting as regulators of cellular metabolism.…”