New Approach Methodologies in Immunotoxicology: Challenges and Opportunities

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Toxicology
• Chemical Safety Assessment

Background:

• A functional immune system is crucial for organismal integrity, balancing surveillance to prevent infections and cancer while avoiding autoimmunity.
• Imbalances in immune response, including overstimulation (autoimmunity, hypersensitivity) or under-response (infections, cancer), pose significant health risks.
• Traditional animal testing for immunotoxicity is being supplemented by New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to improve chemical safety assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and summarize available New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for assessing chemical immunotoxicity.
• To cover both inappropriate immunostimulation and immunosuppression in the context of chemical exposure.
• To discuss the implications of immunotoxicity assessment for cancer development.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on non-animal-based test systems for immunotoxicity.
• Analysis of defined approaches and integrated testing and assessment strategies within NAMs.
• Consideration of NAMs for evaluating both immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive effects.

Main Results:

• Significant progress has been made in developing and validating NAMs for immunotoxicity assessment.
• NAMs provide valuable tools for evaluating chemical risks without animal models.
• These methodologies address various aspects of immune system function relevant to disease.

Conclusions:

• New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) are increasingly important for chemical hazard and risk assessment in immunotoxicology.
• NAMs offer a promising path towards reducing and replacing animal testing in this field.
• Further development and integration of NAMs are essential for comprehensive immunotoxicity evaluation, including cancer risk.