Towards predictive nanotoxicology: from roundabout of molecular events to chronic inflammation prediction
Nanomaterial-induced diseases cannot be reliably predicted because of the lack of clearly identified causal relationships, in particular between acute exposures and chronic symptoms. By applying advanced microscopies and omics to in vitro and in vivo systems, together with in silico molecular modelling, we have here determined that the long-lasting response to a single exposure originates in the counteracting of a newly discovered nanomaterial quarantining and nanomaterial cycling among different lung cell types. This allows us to predict the nanomaterial-induced spectrum of lung inflammation using only in vitro measurements and in silico modelling. Besides its profound implications for cost-efficient animal-free predictive toxicology, our work also paves the way to a better mechanistic understanding of nanomaterial- induced cancer, fibrosis, and other chronic diseases.