Details of the major pathways of metabolism have been elucidated, in large measure through work on experimental animals. It is unlikely that they differ qualitatively between mammalian species. The more important challenge facing researchers today is that of metabolic regulation, and of the integrated control of metabolic pathways in the whole organism. These aspects may well differ quantitatively or even qualitatively between species. In this review, methods for studying metabolism and metabolic regulation in humans are described. There are both scientific and practical advantages to performing studies of metabolic regulation in humans. The scientific advantages are clear from some fundamental differences in metabolic regulation between rats and humans, such as the importance of de novo lipogenesis to the deposition of body fat, and the metabolism of atherogenic triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins. The practical advantages result mainly from the size of a human compared with that of most laboratory animals, enabling large blood samples to be obtained, and several measurement techniques to be applied at one time. Reasons for the persistence of animal experimentation as the norm, rather than the exception, among life science researchers are discussed.

中文翻译：

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人体代谢研究

主要代谢途径的细节已经在很大程度上通过对实验动物的研究得到阐明。它们不太可能在哺乳动物物种之间存在质量差异。今天研究人员面临的更重要的挑战是代谢调节，以及整个生物体中代谢途径的综合控制。这些方面在物种之间可能在数量上甚至在质量上有所不同。在这篇综述中，描述了研究人体代谢和代谢调节的方法。进行人体代谢调节研究具有科学和实践优势。从大鼠和人类之间代谢调节的一些根本差异中可以明显看出科学优势，例如从头脂肪生成对身体脂肪沉积的重要性，以及致动脉粥样硬化的富含甘油三酯的脂蛋白的代谢。实际优势主要来自与大多数实验室动物相比人类的体型，能够获得大量的血液样本，并且可以同时应用多种测量技术。讨论了生命科学研究人员坚持将动物实验作为常态而非例外的原因。