What is alkaline phosphatase?

Generally speaking, alkaline phosphatase is an indicator of liver function. When the liver is damaged or the bile excretion in the intrahepatic bile duct is impaired, the serum alkaline phosphatase level will increase significantly. This is introduced below.

Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme widely distributed in the human intestine, liver, bones, kidneys, placenta and other tissues, and is excreted from the liver to the bile. It can catalyze the removal of 5' phosphate groups from nucleic acid molecules, thereby converting the 5'-P end of the DNA or RNA fragment into a 5'-OH end. But it is not a single enzyme, but a group of isoenzymes.

In clinical practice, ALP measurement is mainly used for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of bone and hepatobiliary system diseases, especially the differential diagnosis of jaundice.

An elevated or low alkaline phosphatase value may indicate a disease in some part of the body. High alkaline phosphatase may indicate bile duct obstruction, liver problems, etc.; low alkaline phosphatase is more common in children and pregnant women.