Advance Access publication August 11, 2010 Transcriptomic Profile Indicative of Immunotoxic Exposure: In Vitro

Investigating the immunotoxic effects of exposure to chemicals usually comprises evaluation of weight and histopathology of lymphoid tissues, various lymphocyte parameters in the circula-tion, and immune function. Immunotoxicity assessment is time consuming in humans or requires a high number of animals, making it expensive. Furthermore, reducing the use of animals in research is an important ethical and political issue. Immunotox-icogenomics represents a novel approach to investigate immuno-toxicity able of overcoming these limitations. The current research, embedded in the European Union project NewGeneris, aimed to retrieve gene expression profiles that are indicative of exposure to immunotoxicants. To this end, whole-genome gene expression was investigated in human peripheral blood mono-nuclear cells in response to in vitro exposure to a range of immunotoxic chemicals (4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, aflatoxin B1