Plant Nick
School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Drug Discov Today. 2004 Apr 1;9(7):328-36. doi: 10.1016/s1359-6446(03)03019-8.
In vitro assays are increasingly being used in drug metabolism studies to screen novel chemicals. Their advantages are twofold: first, they allow testing early in the drug discovery phase, providing important information on chemical characteristics; second, human cells or cell constituents can be utilized, increasing the relevance to man. However, the process of isolation, transformation or storage of these cell systems may alter their phenotype (and, in the case of tumour-derived cell lines, genotype as well). A review of the systems currently employed shows that, whereas all systems have their own caveats, it is possible to find an appropriate system for any particular question that is asked.
体外试验在药物代谢研究中越来越多地用于筛选新型化学品。其优点有两方面：其一，它们允许在药物发现阶段早期进行测试，提供有关化学特性的重要信息；其二，可以利用人类细胞或细胞成分，提高与人体的相关性。然而，这些细胞系统的分离、转化或储存过程可能会改变其表型（对于肿瘤衍生细胞系，还会改变基因型）。对目前使用的系统进行的综述表明，虽然所有系统都有其自身的注意事项，但针对所提出的任何特定问题都有可能找到合适的系统。
