New Perspectives for in Vitro Risk Assessment of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: Application of Coculture and Bioinformatics

Abstract

Nanotechnology is a rapidly expanding field with wide application for industrial and medical use; therefore, understanding the toxicity of engineered nanomaterials is critical for their commercialization. While short-term in vivo studies have been performed to understand the toxicity profile of various nanomaterials, there is a current effort to shift toxicological testing from in vivo observational models to predictive and high-throughput in vitro models. However, conventional monoculture results of nanoparticle exposure are often disparate and not predictive of in vivo toxic effects. A coculture system of multiple cell types allows for cross-talk between cells and better mimics the in vivo environment. This review proposes that advanced coculture models, combined with integrated analysis of genome-wide in vivo and in vitro toxicogenomic data, may lead to development of predictive multigene expression-based models to better determine toxicity profiles of nanomaterials and consequent potential human health risk due to exposure to these compounds.

Acknowledgments

N. L. Guo is funded by NIH R01LM009500 (PI: Guo), NCRR P20RR16440, and supplement (PD: Guo). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.