Figure 2.
The effects of the ABO blood types and the A1 subtype on soluble adhesion molecule levels. The effects of the ABO blood types on sE-selectin, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 levels were evaluated in linear models, where adjusted (sex, age, body mass index and the 10 first genetic principal components) and transformed soluble adhesion molecule concentrations were used as outcomes and the ABO blood type served as categorical variable (A vs non-A, and so on). Corresponding models were fitted for the ABO blood types stratified by the rs507666-A allele count (0, 1 or 2), where the A allele tags the ABO subtype A1 having enhanced glycosyltransferase activity.18 No individuals were found to have B or O blood type and one or more copies of the rs507666-A allele, and thus it was not possible to perform stratification within these blood types. sE-selectin, soluble E-selectin; sICAM-1, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1; sVCAM-1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1.