About this Research Topic
The regulatory implementation of mixture risk assessments is slow and only a very limited number of assessable and measurable substances are covered by predictive mixture assessment strategies. This gap can be closed with effect-biomonitoring, a powerful tool to directly assess the biological effects of complex mixtures. There is a growing number of validated effect-biomarker and data available which needs to be interpreted both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Available effect-biomarkers can be used to measure Mode of Action/Adverse Outcome Pathway (MOA/AOP) key events in humans and the environment, some of which are not yet addressed in current chemical labelling and classification schemes. An MOA/AOP-based systematic approach to establishing the relevance of effect-biomarkers will enables their use in both single substance and mixture risk assessments, leading to reduced uncertainty, an increased protection level and will contribute to the reduction of unnecessary animal testing. The growing Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) knowledge offers to bring these methods into regulatory use by defining relevant substance or mixture threshold levels for relevant MoAs.
This Research Topic aims to engage both researchers and regulators in the development and use of quantitative effect biomarkers for hazard and risk assessment of substances and mixtures.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
• characterisations of effect-biomarkers in general and related to their AOP relevance
• derivation of health-based guidance and effect-based trigger values (EBT) for substances and mixtures
• human and environmental biomonitoring approaches
• exploring relationships between biomarkers of exposure and of effect
• case studies for effect biomarker-based toxicological approaches in regulatory assessments
Available effect-biomarkers can be used to measure Mode of Action/Adverse Outcome Pathway (MOA/AOP) key events in humans and the environment, some of which are not yet addressed in current chemical labelling and classification schemes. An MOA/AOP-based systematic approach to establishing the relevance of effect-biomarkers will enables their use in both single substance and mixture risk assessments, leading to reduced uncertainty, an increased protection level and will contribute to the reduction of unnecessary animal testing. The growing Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) knowledge offers to bring these methods into regulatory use by defining relevant substance or mixture threshold levels for relevant MoAs.
This Research Topic aims to engage both researchers and regulators in the development and use of quantitative effect biomarkers for hazard and risk assessment of substances and mixtures.
Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
• characterisations of effect-biomarkers in general and related to their AOP relevance
• derivation of health-based guidance and effect-based trigger values (EBT) for substances and mixtures
• human and environmental biomonitoring approaches
• exploring relationships between biomarkers of exposure and of effect
• case studies for effect biomarker-based toxicological approaches in regulatory assessments
Keywords: effect-biomarkers, adverse outcome pathways, toxicology, regulation, mixture assessment
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