Advances and perspectives of in vitro cell toxicology in aquatic animals

With the increasing severity of aquatic environmental pollution, there is an urgent demand for efficient and accurate toxicological assessment tools. In vitro cell models derived from aquatic organisms have become important experimental platforms in environmental toxicology. This review systematically summarizes the current status, major achievements, technical challenges, and future perspectives of aquatic in vitro cell toxicology models, including fish cell lines and primary cultures of aquatic invertebrates. Commonly used aquatic cell lines (e.g., EPC, epithelioma papulosum cyprini cells, rainbow trout liver cells, catfish gonadal cells) and primary cell culture techniques are reviewed, and their applications in toxicity evaluation of heavy metals, organic pollutants, and emerging contaminants (e.g., nanomaterials, pharmaceuticals and personal care products) are analyzed. Aquatic in vitro cell models exhibit high efficiency, rapid response, and excellent reproducibility in revealing key toxic mechanisms such as oxidative stress, apoptosis, DNA damage, and endocrine disruption, and are becoming effective complements and partial alternatives to in vivo assays. Although challenges remain in model complexity, standardization, and in vitro-in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE), future efforts should focus on cell line standardization, development of 3D culture and organoid systems, deep integration of multi-omics technologies, and promotion of regulatory applications.Aquatic in vitro toxicology is expected to play an increasingly critical role in aquatic environmental protection and chemical safety management.