Identifying target genes which are heterogeneously expressed

We have identified that VCAM1 is heterogeneously expressed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). In this experiment, we aimed to identify genes which are regulated by TNF and genes which are differentially regulated in the highest and lowest 5% VCAM1 expressing cells. In this experiment, we use total cellular RNA from HUVEC treated with TNF for 4 hr (TNF4) or 24 hr (TNF24) and vehicle control (TNF0). Total cellular RNA from the 5% highest (HIGH) and lowest (LOW) HUVEC treated with TNF for 4 hr were used. We have paired comparisons of 0 hr versus 4hr or 24 hr in four biological lines of HUVEC. Pairwise comparisons were also performed on the 5% highest and lowest HUVEC