8. Conclusion

Against a backdrop of growing evidence of the close links between human health and the environment, identifying the biological effects induced by exposure to one or more toxic substances, and the associated mechanisms of toxicity, is a major challenge that requires us to step up our toxicology research efforts. In this field, animal experimentation still plays a major role in identifying the deleterious effects of environmental contaminants on the scale of an entire organism, although it is not always possible to extrapolate these effects to humans. Moreover, over the last few decades, strong public and societal concerns have emerged for greater consideration of animal welfare and for a reduction in the use of in vivo experimental models. Against this backdrop, the development of tests designed to study toxicity mechanisms in vitro has accelerated in recent years. The development of non-animal...