Description
Native Human Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) is a hydrolase enzyme responsible for removing phosphate groups in the 5- and 3- positions from many types of molecules, including nucleotides, proteins and alkaloids. In most mammals there are four different isozymes: placental (ALPP), germ cell (ALPG), intestinal (ALPI) and tissue non-specific (liver/bone/kidney) (ALPL/TNAP). In the Human, ALP is particularly concentrated in liver, bile duct, kidney, bone, (ALPL) and the placenta (ALPP). Elevated liver form is often due to liver pathologies, and likewise elevation of the bone form often indicates a bone pathology such as Paget’s disease. However, elevated ALP can be due to non-specific causes and does not always indicate serious disease. Nevertheless alkaline phosphatase is a very useful serum marker, with wide applications from diagnosing hepatoma to predicting mortality in dialysis patients