Bone matrix vesicle-bound alkaline phosphatase for the assessment of peripheral blood admixture to human bone marrow aspirates

Abstract Purpose Peripheral blood (PB) admixture should be minimized during numerical and functional, as well as cytokinetic analysis of bone marrow (BM) aspirates for research purposes. Therefore, purity assessment of the BM aspirate should be performed in advance. We investigated whether bone matrix vesicle (BMV)-bound bone alkaline phosphatase (ALP) could serve as a marker for the purity of BM aspirates. Results Total ALP activity was significantly higher in BM serum (97 (176–124) U/L, median (range)) compared to PB serum (63 (52–73) U/L, p  Conclusion The exclusive presence of BMV-bound ALP in BM could serve as a novel marker to assess purity of BM aspirates.