Table 2.
Advantages and disadvantages of common animal models for atherosclerosis.
| Animal | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Rats and mice | (i) Low cost (ii) High availability (iii) Easy to handle and maintain (iv) Manageable breeding (v) Well-established genomic sequencing permit genetic manipulation |
(i) Typically resistant to atherogenesis (ii) Absence of plasma CETP activity [93] (iii) Most cholesterol is transported through HDL particles [94] (iv) The small size of mice limits frequent blood sampling and dissection of small arteries |
|
| ||
| Rabbits | (i) Easy to handle and maintain (ii) Relatively inexpensive (iii) High availability (iv) Sensitive to dietary cholesterol induction of atherosclerosis (v) Large enough to permit physiological experiments |
(i) Lesion location less compared with humans [95] (ii) Deficiency in hepatic lipase leads to hepatotoxicity following prolonged cholesterol feeding [96] |
|
| ||
| Pigs | (i) An anatomically and physiologically similar cardiovascular system compared to humans [97] (ii) Susceptible to spontaneous atherosclerosis [98] (iii) Comparable patterns of plaque distribution [99] (iv) High availability (for miniature pigs) |
(i) Large size with resultant management difficulties (ii) High maintenance cost |
|
| ||
| Dogs | (i) Easy to work with (ii) Ideal size (iii) High availability |
(i) Highly resistant to atherogenesis (ii) Status and anthropomorphic attitudes toward dogs (iii) Differences in important aspects of their cardiovascular system than humans [100] |
|
| ||
| Hamsters | (i) Low cost (ii) High availability (iii) Easy to handle and maintain (iv) Carry a significant portion of its plasma cholesterol in LDL particles and is therefore close to humans [101] (v) Sensitive to high-fat diets [102] |
(i) Inconsistency of lesion development and absence of advanced lesions [103] (ii) Require highly abnormal diets and/or treatment with a cytotoxic chemical agent, such as streptozotocin [104] |
|
| ||
| Guinea pigs | (i) Develop diet-induced atherosclerosis (ii) Most of cholesterol is transported in LDL particles [105] (iii) Ovariectomized guinea pigs showed a similar plasma lipid profile as in postmenopausal women [106] |
(i) Require constant supplementation with vitamin C, which potentially acts as an antioxidant to interfere with atherogenesis [107] |
|
| ||
| Nonhuman primates | (i) Genetically resemblance to humans (ii) Similar omnivorous diet (iii) Similar metabolism (iv) Develop metabolic syndrome as they age [108] |
(i) Expensive (ii) Low availability (iii) Live long (thus requiring lengthy experimental periods) (iv) Potential carriers of dangerous viral zoonoses [104] (v) Significant ethical issues |
|
| ||
| Pigeon | (i) Low cost (ii) Easy handling (iii) Susceptible to atherosclerosis (iv) Sufficient size |
(i) Nonmammalian (ii) Lipoprotein compositions and metabolism are different [109] (iii) Differences in arterial histology [110] |
|
| ||
| Chicken | (i) Low cost (ii) High availability (iii) Develop atherosclerosis naturally in aorta and coronary arteries, with cholesterol feeding accelerating the pathogenesis [111] |
(i) Nonmammalian (ii) Viral infection is associated with atherosclerosis [112, 113] |
CETP: cholesterol ester transfer protein; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein.