Enhanced expression of Ficolin 1 is a specific gene marker of Takayasu's vasculitis

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) Vasculitis (angiitis) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving large blood vessels. We here identify the genes whose mRNA levels are commonly augmented in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from TA patients regardless of the patient's symptom, active or inactive phase, compared with those of normal volunteers. Among them, ficolin 1 (FCN1) was notable because its mRNA level was more than 4.0 fold in all 8 patients examined. A total of 8 two color arrays were performed and each individual array included a target sample and a control sample.