COMPARATIVE CELL TOXICOLOGY - THE BASIS FOR IN-VITRO TOXICITY TESTING

If ''cell toxicology'' is defined as the discipline aimed at studying the general principles of chemical interference with cellular structur es and/or functions, then ''comparative cell toxicology'' may be defin ed as the study of the variety of responses to xenobiotics using: (a) different endpoints within one cell type; (b) cell types from differen t tissues from one species; and (c) homologous cell types from differe nt species. If the full potential of in vitro models for toxicity test ing is to be realised and the scientific basis for hazard assessment i mproved, then comparative cell toxicological approaches have to be dev eloped further. In the present paper, an approach using different in v itro systems is described. The approach is aimed at the assessment of the basic toxicological characteristics of chemicals.