The
human body is exposed to hundreds of chemicals every day. Many
of these toxicants have unknown effects on the body that can be deleterious.
Furthermore, chemicals can have a synergistic effect, resulting in
toxic responses of cocktails at relatively low individual exposure
levels. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the liver are the first
organs to be exposed to ingested pharmaceuticals and environmental
chemicals. As a result, these organs often experience extensive damage
from xenobiotics and their metabolites. In vitro models offer a promising
method for testing toxic effects. Many advanced in vitro models have
been developed for GI and liver toxicity. These models strive to recapitulate
the in vivo organ architecture to more accurately model chemical toxicity.
In this review, we discuss many of these advances, in addition to
recent efforts to integrate the GI and the liver in vitro for a more
holistic toxicity model.
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