Abstract
Alkaline phosphatase is found in almost all nucleated mammalian cells as well as in many microorganisms. In animal tissues, it is often found associated with plasma membranes and also has been indirectly implicated in the accumulation of calcium-phosphate in calcifying tissue, osteoblasts and odontoblasts. In the secretion of milk, vesicles accumulate casein and colloidal calcium-phosphate, while in a separate pathway milk fat is secreted and bounded by the apical plasma membrane. Alkaline phosphatase is found in milk, and all milks contain both colloidal calcium-phosphate and fat globule membranes which are derived in part from the plasma membrane. Previous studies had suggested that mammary alkaline phosphatase is limited to nonsecretory myoepithelial cells, but recent work has indicated that intracellular alkaline phosphatase is cryptic. We therefore decided to investigate the cytochemical distribution of alkaline phosphatase in mammary secretory cells, and to determine if it could participate in calcium-phosphate accumulation in milk.
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