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The Blood Type Diet Archives Volume 5
Good question: It does and it doesn't
Posted By: Peter D'Adamo Date: July-21, 1998 at 19:36:04
In Response To: Doesn't the O in AO or BO bloodtype mean anything? (mlou)

Being a combination of AO or BO does have an effect on the secretion of H, the actual "O antigen." (H is a precursor to A or B) This is dependant largely on whether the AO or BO in question is an ABH "secretor" versus a "non-secretor." AO or BO secretors would secrete more free H antigen in their secretions than the corresponding AA or BB secretors. Theoretically, this would imply that O(H) specific lectins or antibodies would, to some degree, react in AH and BH secretors. Whether or not other characteristics are also displayed is unknown. However, it is not true that AO (or more acurately AH) secretors secrete anywhere near the amount of H as O secretors. Most of the enzyme systems responsible for the elaboration of blood type antigens (the transferases, for example) are under Mendelian (ie dominant/recessive) type control; so even though the AO or BO individual was technically only "half as much" an A or B as an AA or BB, probably greater than 95% of their enzyme activity is switched by the dominant A or B gene to the production of that respective antigen, versus H.
Messages in This Thread
mlou -- Tuesday, 21 July 1998, at 10:37 p.m.
- Good question: It does and it doesn't
Peter D'Adamo -- Tuesday, 21 July 1998, at 7:38 p.m.
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