Measuring Soluble ICAM-1 in African Populations

The level of plasma soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) has been associated with the pathogenesis of several diseases. Previously, a commercial antibody was reported not to recognize an ICAM-1 allele known as ICAM-1(kilifi) prevalent among African populations. However, that study was based on 19 samples from African Americans of whom 13 had the wild type allele, five heterozygotes and one homozygote. Here, we compare plasma sICAM-1 measures using three different commercial antibodies in samples from Kenyan children genotyped for ICAM-1(kilifi) allele. We show that two of these antibodies have some degree of deficiency in detecting the ICAM-1(kilifi) allele. Consideration of the antibody used to measure sICAM-1 is important as up to 30% of the populations in Africa harbour this allele.