Inhalation is an important route of exposure to airborne chemicals in the working environment. Exposed workers may develop various respiratory diseases such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and in some cases lung cancer. Inhaled chemicals may also enter the bloodstream and cause adverse health effects in other organs.
Improving the efficiency of chemical risk assessment requires the development and testing of new methods, including lung cell models for airborne chemicals. Such models are essential for screening and risk assessment of the numerous chemicals to which workers are exposed.
The RESUPT (RESpiratory-UPTake) project is one of the PARC projects under Work Package 5. Its main objective is to establish human cell culture models to study the uptake, metabolism, and excretion of chemicals following inhalation. In RESUPT, STAMI will develop and test an advanced lung cell model of the upper airways (bronchial lung model) to predict the harmful effects of chemicals.
The different cell models will, in the first phase of the project, be tested using well-characterized, data-rich chemicals. The models will then be used to investigate uptake of uncharacterized chemicals, with STAMI focusing on substances of high relevance to the working environment.
The project will have significant national and international occupational relevance by increasing knowledge about how chemical substances are taken up in the lungs. By implementing the advanced lung model in regulatory assessments, the project will facilitate the identification and regulation of hazardous substances, benefiting workers’ health nationwide.
The project will also play an important role in integrating advanced lung models into next-generation risk assessment (NGRA) and regulatory toxicology. Given the extensive European collaboration within the project, it will contribute valuable knowledge for the further development of new risk assessment methods. This is particularly relevant for occupational exposure and risk assessments under regulatory frameworks such as REACH.
Project Leader: Laura Maria Azzurra Camassa
Project Team Members:
Steen Mollerup
Oda Astrid Haarr Foss
External Collaborators: The project is led by RIVM (the Netherlands) in collaboration with eleven international partners across Europe.
Funding Source: Horizon Europe (EU)
More Information about the Research Programme: https://www.eu-parc.eu/
PARC Project Number: RESUPT (P5.3.4.b)
More information is to be found on the Norwegian project page