A number of ex vivo assays have been developed and validated for the evaluation of immunotoxicity following exposure to drugs or environmental toxicants in animals. Although these assays have proven invaluable in researchers' understanding of the range and mechanisms of immunotoxicology, a number of them may prove to be impractical for use in human immunotoxicology, particularly for screening purposes in large-scale clinical trials. Due to their central role in the establishment and maintenance of the immune and inflammatory responses, cytokines would appear to be a reasonable choice to fill this role. There are a number of conceptual and technical considerations, however, which must be addressed before cytokine assessment can be used as a reliable measurement of immunotoxicity.
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