Resistance to the cytotoxic effects of S(N)1 alkylating agents such as N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) is well established in mismatch repair-defective cells, however, little is known about the cellular response to S(N)2 alkylating agents in these cells. Here we describe the cytotoxic response and the mutagenic response at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) locus to the S(N)2 alkylating agent methyl methanesultfonate (MMS) in human cancer cell lines defective in mismatch repair (MMR). Our findings suggest that cytotoxicity to MMS is mediated through MMR, as indicated by an increased resistance to MMS in MMR-deficient cells. Cells in which specific MMR-gene defects were complemented by chromosome transfer were generally more sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of MMS. Additionally, the induced mutant frequency at HPRT following exposure to MMS is significantly increased in MMR-deficient lines. These findings suggest that resistance to S(N)2 alkylation damage is mediated by MMR genes, and that resistance to such damage in MMR-defective cells correlates with an increase in genomic mutations. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that abasic sites may be substrates for repair involving MMR-gene products in human cells.