Monocyte gene expression patterns distinguish subjects with and without atherosclerosis.

We used microarrays to profile monocytes to identify gene expression differences correlating with disease status in carotid artery atherosclerosis. We identified 1302 genes differentially expressed between control and affected subjects after correcting for clinical covariates. Differential expression was likely caused by unidentified risk factors or systematic manifestations of atherosclerosis itself. Monocytes were extracted from subjects with and without carotid atherosclerosis. Microarray hybridization was used to determine if expression patterns distinguish the subjects.