Metabolic systems robustness

The thiosulfate reductase/rhodanese/APS reductase system is thus supported by evidence from direct enzyme assay, whole-cell metabolism and energetics, and S-labehng experiments and provides a robust hypothesis to explain thionate oxidation and energy conservation in at least some chemolithotrophs. 

In comparison to the skin, the buccal mucosa offers higher permeability and faster onset of drug delivery, whereas the key features which help it score over the other mucosal route, the nasal delivery system, include robustness, ease of use, and avoidance of drug metabolism and degradation. The buccal mucosa and the skin have similar structures with multiple cell layers at different degrees of maturation. The buccal mucosa, however, lacks the intercellular lamellar bilayer structure found in the stratum corneum, and hence is more permeable. An additional factor contributing to the enhanced permeability is the rich blood supply in the... 

To conduct basic research and address the need for reagents and standards, cell lines have been modified so that the function of metabolizing enzymes and transporters can be examined individually. These cell lines can serve as a source of active protein to validate a chemical as a substrate or inhibitor or as a source of protein to validate the specificity of an antibody. For this approach to be robust for establishing specificity (and to minimize false-negative findings), all of the key proteins need to be available and active in the system. However, as specific probes are being identified and developed, useful mechanistic studies can be performed on transporters and substrates/inhibitors, which are currently available. 

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