Polymorphism of Acid Phosphatase in Human Erythrocytes

Polymorphism of Acid Phosphatase in Human Erythrocytes 5.1. Introduction 

We have already discussed the properties of human erythrocytic acid phosphatase (Section 3.3), and we pointed out that, like acid phosphate in other tissues, it may exist in several isoenzymatic forms. In 1963, Hopkinson et al. (H13) subjected hemolysates of human red cells from an English population to horizontal starch-gel electrophoresis for 17 hours at 5°C. The gels were then sliced horizontally, covered with 0.05 M phenolphthalein sodium diphosphate at pH 6.0, and allowed to incubate for 3 hours at 37°C. Five different electrophoretic patterns of acid phosphatase activity could be distinguished in different individuals. Shortly thereafter Lai and his associates (L2) confirmed these findings and discovered an additional sixth pattern which had been predicted by Hopkinson et al. (H13). The distribution of these patterns in various types of population was assiduously pursued within the next several years, and several new ones were discovered in Negro populations (G3, K2). 

It is of interest that within several years after the observations of Hopkinson et al. (H13), other human erythrocytic enzymes such as phosphoglucomutase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphogluco-nate dehydrogenase, adenylate kinase, peptidase, and adenosine deaminase were explored intensively with respect to their polymorphism (H2, HU). However, we shall concern ourselves here only with acid phosphatase. 

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