Anti-Alkaline Phosphatase (Tissue-Nonspecific) Monoclonal Antibody (Clone: ALPL/597)

There are at least four distinct but related alkaline phosphatases: intestinal, placental, placental-like, and liver/bone/kidney (tissue non-specific) . The first three are located together on chromosome 2, while the tissue non-specific form is located on chromosome 1. The product of this gene is a membrane bound glycosylated enzyme that is not expressed in any particular tissue and is, therefore, referred to as the tissue-nonspecific form of the enzyme. The exact physiological function of the alkaline phosphatases is not known. A proposed function of this form of the enzyme is matrix mineralization; however, mice that lack a functional form of this enzyme show normal skeletal development. This enzyme has been linked directly to hypo-phosphatasia, a disorder that is characterized by hypercalcemia and includes skeletal defects.