Alkaline Phosphatase Enzyme

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Cheyenne Buchanan BIO 490 Research Paper 4 May 2015 Alkaline Phosphatase: The Role it has in the Body Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP), classically known as ortho-phosphoric acid monoester phosphohydrolase, is an enzyme that is naturally abundant throughout the body. This enzyme is specific to the large role it has in the development and growth of the bones and tissues by: monitoring and removing oxygen, calcium, and phosphorus in the body, along with proliferating the body’s life in a healthy manner under specific environmental conditions. Not only is ALP plentiful and in abundance, but there are many variations of ALP, 11 known forms to be exact. The variation in forms of ALP all depend on where in the body the enzyme is being generated, ergo alkaline phosphatase falls under the classification of an isozyme, an enzyme with an abundance of variation. Its highest levels can be found in the liver, intestines, kidneys, placenta, and bone and the importance of alkaline phosphatase is one that cannot go unstudied and under acknowledged. Alkaline phosphatase is classified under the group of enzymes that have the ability to hydrolyze the orthophosphate mono-ester (phosphate esters) in an alkaline environment by the dephosphorylating at the 5‘end of the DNA or RNA; simply put, alkaline phosphatase are enzyme that are able to catalyze the addition of water to the oxygen and the phosphorus bond through the process of a nucleophilic attack of the phosphorus by cysteine or metal ions (Holtz, Kantrowitz.) With ALP having a broad range of activity, it can be said that it also then has a low specificity for alcohols. Shown below is the reaction that catalyzes to further demonstrate what has been stated above. R-O-PO32- + H2O → R-O-H + PO43- Some clinical significance associated with the Alkaline Phosphatase is that it is associated with the plasma
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