Abstract
SummaryThe term ‘model’ often describes non-human biological systems that are used to obtain a better understanding of human disorders. According to the most stringent definition, an animal ‘model’ would display exactly the same phenotype as seen in the relevant human disorder; however, this precise correspondence is often not present. In this Editorial, I propose the alternative, broader term ‘tool’ to describe a biological system that does not obviously (or precisely) recapitulate a human disorder, but that nonetheless provides useful insight into the etiology or treatment of that disorder. Applying the term ‘tool’ to biological systems used in disease-related studies will help to identify those systems that can most effectively address mechanisms underlying human disease. Conversely, differentiating ‘models’ from ‘tools’ will help to define more clearly the limitations of biological systems used in preclinical analyses.
Highlights
The term ‘model’ often describes non-human biological systems dissecting some of the mechanisms underlying that disorder
Differentiating Animal systems used to analyze the etiology of cancer include
A soft tissue sarcomas with complex karyotypes (Dodd et al, 2010), specific term applying to biological systems that do not completely or for any cancer using xenografts of human tumor cells recapitulate a human disorder, yet are still relevant for studying it, transplanted into ectopic sites of immunodeficient mice, where a is currently lacking
Summary
The term ‘model’ often describes non-human biological systems dissecting some of the mechanisms underlying that disorder. Display exactly the same phenotype as seen in the relevant human Some biological systems are clearly models, whereas others are disorder; this precise correspondence is often not present.
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