Initial Stages of Mustard Action Upon Influenzal Toxicity and Infectivity. ∗

Abstract

Summary

1. Sodium thiosulfate in concentrations of 0.2 M or less produced no observable effects upon viral toxicity and infectivity. 2. Intracerebral inoculation of 0.075 M or less of sodium thiosulfate was well tolerated by mice. 3. Admixture of 0.1 M sodium thiosulfate with 5 × 10^-4 M cyclo mustard resulted in detoxification of the latter. 4. A possibly greater rate of destruction of viral toxicity by mustard, as opposed to viral infectivity, seemed to occur in the early stages of mustard-virus interaction. 5. Inactivation of viral toxicity by mustard proved complete, but the loss was not demonstrable in the viral progeny derived from eggs infected with one ID₅₀ of mustard-treated virus.