1. Altered patterns of gene expression distinguishing ascending aortic aneurysms from abdominal aortic aneurysms: complementary DNA expression profiling in the molecular characterization of aortic disease 
Tarek S. Absi, MD, Thoralf M Sundt, MD, William S Tung, MD, Marc Moon, MD, Jason K Lee, MD, Ralph R Damiano, MD,, Robert W. Thompson, MD 
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 
Volume 126, Issue 2, Pages (August 2003)
DOI: /S (02)

2. Figure 1
Histopathology of aortic aneurysms. Representative sections of aortic wall tissue stained with Verhoeff–van Geisen for elastin (dark purple fibers). Compared with NTA, TAAs exhibited disruption, fragmentation and disorganization of medial elastic fibers in absence of significant inflammatory changes, along with other characteristic features of cystic medial necrosis (upper panels). AAAs exhibited more extreme destruction of medial elastin and replacement by fibrocollagenous extracellular matrix (pink), along with depletion of medial SMCs and mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration in direct association with areas of elastic fiber degeneration (lower panels).
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /S (02) )

3. Figure 2
Microarray analysis of gene expression during aneurysm development. A, Representative autoradiographs for AtlasArray Human 1.2 I membranes (CLONTECH) blotted with phosphorus 32–labeled cDNA derived from NTA and TAA. Each blot contains bound cDNA clones from 1185 distinct gene products that can be identified by superimposing orientation grid provided by manufacturer, with each gene located by sectors A through F, columns 01 through 14, and rows a through n (sector G denotes panel of 9 housekeeping genes; see manufacturer website for further details at Differences in gene expression between blots can be visualized in higher resolution panels from the areas highlighted in yellow, as shown on far right (blue asterisks denote 3 genes exhibiting decreased expression in TAAs vs NTA and red asterisks denote 2 genes exhibiting increased expression). B, Color display illustrating relative levels of expression for all 1185 genes represented on AtlasArray Human 1.2 I microarray as generated by GeneSpring version software (Silicon Genetics). Data shown reflect levels of relative gene expression (normalized relative intensities) for each individual gene in 4 specimens of NTA and 4 TAAs, where each gene is represented by single vertical band oriented according to array code shown above. Color bar (below) indicates spectrum of normalized relative intensities shown on color display, ranging from blue (low-level expression) to purple (mean expression) to red (high-level expression).
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /S (02) )

4. Figure 3
Number and distribution of genes exhibiting altered levels of expression in aortic aneurysms. Venn diagram showing number and distribution of 1185 genes for which significantly altered (P < .05) or unaltered (P > .05) levels of expression were detected in TAAs versus NTA (red) and in AAAs versus NAA (blue) by parametric comparisons test. Numbers of genes exhibiting altered or unchanged levels of expression in both conditions are illustrated by areas of overlap (purple).
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /S (02) )