Which enzyme acts as a hydrolase and is used as a marker for liver disease?

Which enzyme acts as a hydrolase and is used as a marker for liver disease?

• A. LAP
• B. Ornithine Carbamoyl Transferase
• C. Alkaline Phosphatase
• D. ALT

Answer: (A)

Enzymes that act as hydrolases catalyze the breaking of chemical bonds by adding water, such as removing phosphate groups from molecules. Alkaline phosphatase is a classic hydrolase that removes phosphate groups from many substrates. In clinical practice, its serum activity rises in liver and biliary diseases, especially conditions causing cholestasis, so it’s used as a marker of liver disease. ALT, by contrast, is a transaminase, transferring amino groups rather than hydrolyzing bonds, so it reflects hepatocellular injury rather than cholestasis. Ornithine carbamoyl transferase is a transferase involved in the urea cycle, not a hydrolase or a primary liver disease marker. LAP, or leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, is a phosphatase found in white blood cells and is used mainly in hematology to assess leukocyte function, not as a standard liver disease marker. So the enzyme that is a hydrolase and used as a marker for liver disease is alkaline phosphatase.

Enzymes that act as hydrolases catalyze the breaking of chemical bonds by adding water, such as removing phosphate groups from molecules. Alkaline phosphatase is a classic hydrolase that removes phosphate groups from many substrates. In clinical practice, its serum activity rises in liver and biliary diseases, especially conditions causing cholestasis, so it’s used as a marker of liver disease.

ALT, by contrast, is a transaminase, transferring amino groups rather than hydrolyzing bonds, so it reflects hepatocellular injury rather than cholestasis. Ornithine carbamoyl transferase is a transferase involved in the urea cycle, not a hydrolase or a primary liver disease marker. LAP, or leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, is a phosphatase found in white blood cells and is used mainly in hematology to assess leukocyte function, not as a standard liver disease marker.

So the enzyme that is a hydrolase and used as a marker for liver disease is alkaline phosphatase.