TNF-α up-regulates the expression of the same 20 NF-κB associated genes in HMEC and HUVEC.

Cells were incubated in the presence of TNF-α (40 ng/ml) for 4 h. Gene expression was measured by RT-PCR, as described in Materials and Methods. For each gene, mRNA levels were normalized such that the value for the “basal mRNA level” (smallest amount of target gene mRNA quantifiable, Ct = 35) was 1. Ratio of the mRNA content in stimulated cells versus unstimulated cell mRNA content was calculated. Results are expressed as the mean of two independent experiments.