Cutaneous challenge with chemical warfare agents in the SKH-1 hairless mouse. (I) Development of a model for screening studies in skin decontamination and protection

Exposure to lethal chemical warfare agents (CWAs) is no longer only a military issue due to the terrorist threat. Among the CWAs of concern are the organophosphorus nerve agent O-ethyl-S-(2[di-isopropylamino]ethyl)methyl-phosphonothioate (VX) and the vesicant sulfur mustard (SM). Although efficient means of decontamination are available, most of them lose their efficacy when decontamination is delayed after exposure of the bare skin. Alternatively, CWA skin penetration can be prevented by topical skin protectants. Active research in skin protection and decontamination is thus paramount. In vivo screening of decontaminants or skin protectants is usually time consuming and may be expensive depending on the animal species used. We were thus looking for a suitable, scientifically sound and cost-effective model, which is easy to handle. The euthymic hairless mouse Crl: SKH-1 (hr/hr) BR is widely used in some skin studies and has previously been described to be suitable for some experiments involving SM or SM a...