In vitro approaches to the assessment of immunotoxicity

At present, hypersensitivity and immunosuppression are considered the primary focus for developing in vitro methods in immunotoxicology. Nevertheless, in vitro assays to detect immunostimulation and autoimmunity are also needed. Although developmental immunotoxicity is an emerging concern, there are no in vitro test models available at this time. The purpose of this presentation is to reviewthe stateof- the-art in the field of in vitro immunotoxicity and, in particular, to present data obtained within an ECVAM sponsored project aimed at the optimization of in vitro tests to assess the immunosuppressive potential of chemicals.