Scope

The recent advances in immunotoxicology have filled gaps in our understanding of how chemicals from occupational or environmental sources dysregulate the immune system and induce severe chronic diseases or increase the risk of developing allergic, inflammatory, cancerous or infectious disorders. These considerable progresses resulted in new in vitro tests assessing the immunoreactivity of chemicals and particles.

New challenges are, however, opening before us and we must utilize the contemporary technologies and concepts emerging in fundamental immunology to open up ways of elucidating the specific immune responses activated by toxicants.

This specialty section is dedicated to defining the effects of pollutants on the immune system not only in humans but also in other living species. We encourage academic, industrial and regulatory groups to highlight new directions and perspectives for investigative, diagnostic and regulatory aspects in fundamental and applied immunotoxicology.

This section covers research contributions devoted to (but not limited to):       

• determining the mechanisms mobilized by innate immune cells to sense chemical substances, particles or danger signals.
• delineating how toxicants modify the polarization of innate and adaptive immune cells and clarify the respective role of inflammation and immunosuppression during early and late tissue responses to pollutants.
• deepening our understanding of the pathological pathways elicited by chemicals or particles and characterizing the role of immune responses in toxicant-related allergy, fibrosis, cancer and infection.
• determining the effect of pollutants on human immunity and proposing new concepts in immunotoxicology based on human studies.
• determining the mode of actions of chemicals and particles from different in vivo and in vitro models and elucidating how toxicants chemically interact with cell membrane of immune cells.
• developing and optimizing bioassay tests for the prediction of chemical and particle adversity.
• establishing practical methods and improve predictive and regulatory developments in immunotoxicology.

Submission

Copyright Statement