Single cell multiomics systems biology for molecular toxicity

Abstract

Exposure to environmental chemicals has been associated with increased risks for various diseases, but our understanding of their molecular targets and how they drive disease progression remains limited. Environmental toxicants can trigger a multitude of effects on the epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, and other molecular entities in individual cells and tissues. The recent advances in high throughput single cell multiomics technologies are enabling a deeper understanding of these complex molecular alterations and interactions underlying exposure mode of action at a single cell resolution. Accompanying the increased capacity to generate single cell multiomics data is the rapid advancement in computational tools for data analysis of individual omics layers, multimodal data integration and molecular network modeling. Recent applications of single cell omics technologies and analytical methods have enabled the elucidation of cell type specific genes and pathways affected by various environmental exposures. Further adoption of advanced single cell multiomics methodologies in the molecular toxicology field promises a more comprehensive understanding of the regulatory networks within and between cell types underlying the perturbations in physiological systems and disease risks posed by environmental toxicants.