. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2008 Jul 1.

Published in final edited form as: Drug Discov Today Dis Models. 2007;4(2):67–73. doi: 10.1016/j.ddmod.2007.10.005

Table 1.

Comparison of in vitro and in vivo models

Model systems	Advantages	Disadvantages	Examples	Best use of model
In vitro Models	- Biochemical & molecular events well-defined.	- Cannot reliably predict cancer development in vivo.	Ras cell models	ROS in cancers
	- ROS alterations readily measurable.	- Difficult to mimic tissue microenvironment	Bcr-Abl model	Anticancer drug testing
	- Amenable to further genetic modifications.	- Redox status and metabolism sensitive to culture conditions.	c-Myc model	ROS in leukemia (CML)
	- Suitable for mechanistic studies.		p53 cell models	Mitochondrial ROS
	- Relatively inexpensive			Energy metabolism and redox regulation
	- Adaptable for high-throughput drug screening.			Anticancer drug testing
In vivo models	- Resembles ROS stress and disease development in human.	- Time consuming and high costs.	SOD1^−/− mice	Role of ROS in cancers, ageing & other diseases
	- Genetic background well defined.	- Difficult to measure ROS in vivo	SOD2^+/− mice	Mitochondrial ROS & cancer development
	- Allows the evaluation of ROS effects in complex tissue microenvironment.	- Limited flexibility for further genetic modifications	Catalase^TG mice	Role of H₂O₂ in vivo
	- Suitable for long-term follow up on biological consequences.	- Result interpretation could be complicated.