acid phosphatase

(biochemistry) An enzyme in blood which catalyzes the release of phosphate from phosphate esters; optimum activity at pH 5.

A group of phosphatases (e.g., serum, liver, prostate) with optimal activity below a pH level of 7. Elevated serum levels have been observed in metastatic breast and prostatic cancer; Paget’s, Gaucher’s, and Niemann-Pick diseases and in myelocytic leukemia.

A phosphatase with optimum functioning at pH 5.4 and present in the prostate gland.