Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a very common type of alopecia in men and women. It may have a negative effect on the quality of life. The most widely used pharmaceutical treatment for AGA is topical minoxidil and it is also the only external treatment of pattern hair loss. There are two forms of this treatment - 5% and 2% minoxidil. The correlation between SULT1A1 expression in the scalp and minoxidil response has been previously reported. Due to the prolonged treatment time required to elicit a therapeutic response (approximately 6 months) combined with the variable efficacy of minoxidil in the general population, expression of SULT1A1 as a biomarker for predicting treatment response would have a significant clinical utility.

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are a group of toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning through blockage of voltage-gated sodium channels. PSTs are produced by prokaryotic freshwater cyanobacteria and eukaryotic marine dinoflagellates. Proliferation of toxic algae species can lead to harmful algal blooms, during which seafood accumulate high levels of PSTs, posing a health threat to consumers. The existence of PST-transforming enzymes was first remarked due to the divergence of PST profiles and concentrations between contaminated bivalves and toxigenic organisms. Later, several enzymes involved in PST transformation, synthesis and elimination have been identified. The knowledge of PST-transforming enzymes is necessary for understanding the processes of toxin accumulation and depuration in mollusk bivalves. Furthermore, PST-transforming enzymes facilitate the obtainment of pure analogues of toxins as in natural sources they are present in a mixture. Pure compounds are of interest for the development of drug candidates and as analytical reference materials. PST-transforming enzymes can also be employed for the development of analytical tools for toxin detection. This review summarizes the PST-transforming enzymes identified so far in living organisms from bacteria to humans, with special emphasis on bivalves, cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, and discusses enzymes\' biological functions and potential practical applications.