| acid phosphatase | <enzyme> An enzyme that catalyses the conversion of an orthophosphoric monoester and water to an alcohol and orthophosphate. Chemical name: Orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase (acid optimum) Registry number: EC 3.1.3.2 (12 Dec 1998) |
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| acid phosphatase test for semen | A screening test for semen by determining acid phosphatase content; because seminal fluid contains high concentrations of acid phosphatase, while other body fluids and extraneous foreign materials have very low concentrations, high values of acid phosphatase on vaginal aspirate or lavage, or on wash fluid from stains, render positive identification of semen, even if the male is aspermic. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Gomori's non-specific acid phosphatase stain | <technique> A method in which formalin-fixed frozen sections are incubated in a substrate containing sodium beta-glycerophosphate and lead nitrate at pH 5.0; the insoluble lead phosphate produced is treated with ammonium sulfide to give a black lead sulfide. (05 Mar 2000) |
| prostate acid phosphatase | An enzyme produced by the prostate that is elevated in some patients with prostate cancer. (12 Dec 1998) |
| purple acid phosphatase | <enzyme> 110-kD glycoprotein with fe(iii)-zn(ii) centre; isolated from the red kidney bean phaseolus vulgaris; genbank p80366 Registry number: EC 3.1.3.- Synonym: tartrate-resistant purple acid phosphatase, fe(iii)-zn(ii) purple acid phosphatase, kbpase (26 Jun 1999) |
| okadaic acid-sensitive phosphatase | <enzyme> Negatively controls the cyclin degradation pathway in amphibian eggs Registry number: EC 3.1.3.- Synonym: oas-phosphatase (26 Jun 1999) |
| tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase | <biochemistry, enzyme> Acid phosphatase is present in bone, prostate, platelets, erythrocytes and spleen. Osteoclasts contain an isoenzyme that is resistant to tartrate, whereas, the isoenzyme in the prostate is sensitive. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase is elevated in the serum of patients with primary hypoparathyroidism, Paget disease, vertebral osteoporosis, T-cell lymphoma and in women after oophorectomy. Oestrogen replacement in osteoporotic postmenopausal women is associated with a decrease in tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase of 70% over 3 to 6 months. Acronym: TRAP (16 Dec 1997) |
| lysophosphatidic acid phosphatase | <enzyme> Forms 1-acyl-sn-glycerol plus pi Registry number: EC 3.1.3.- (26 Jun 1999) |
| acetyl reduction assay | <investigation> A technique for measuring the nitrogen fixation activity in photosynthetic organisms. It uses a flame ionisation detector and a gas chromatography apparatus to determine the reduction of acetylene to ethylene by the enzyme nitrogenase. (06 May 1997) |
| Ames assay | <procedure> One of a number of procedures used to test substances for likely ability to cause cancer that combines the use of animal tissue to generate active metabolites of the substance with a test for mutagenicity in bacteria. (18 Nov 1997) |
| antibiotic assay | <investigation> A test to determine how sensitive a bacterial or fungal strain is to arange of antibiotics bymeasuring the microbes' ability to grow in astandard dilution of each chemical. (09 Oct 1997) |
| assay | <procedure> The determination of the amount of a particular constituent of a mixture or of the biological or pharmacological potency of a drug. (10 May 1997) |
| bandshift assay | <investigation> An assay for proteins, such as transcription factors, that bind specific DNA sequences. A labelled oligonucleotide corresponding to the recognition sequence is incubated with an appropriate nuclear protein extract and run on a nondenaturing acrylamide gel. Oligonucleotides that have been bound by proteins are retarded relative to those that are unbound. (18 Nov 1997) |
| biological assay | <technique> Once a pharmaceutical protein is isolated from the cells in which it was grown, researchers perform tests to measure the protein's biological activity. It must maintain a certain minimal level of biological activity to be used for animal or clinical testing or, later, for market. Researchers also test to confirm that the isolated protein is identical to the desired protein. (21 Mar 1998) |
| radioimmunoprecipitation assay | Sensitive assay using radiolabelled antigens to detect specific antibodies in serum. The antigens are allowed to react with the serum and then precipitated using a special reagent such as protein a sepharose beads. The bound radiolabelled immunoprecipitate is then commonly analyzed by gel electrophoresis. Radioimmunoprecipitation assay (ripa) is often used as a confirmatory test for diagnosing the presence of HIV antibodies. (12 Dec 1998) |