Use of cDNA Representational Difference Analysis to Identify Disease-Specific Genes in Human Atherosclerotic Plaques

Changes in gene expression underlie many biological phenomena, including cellular differentiation and activation, embryonic development, and pathological processes. In recent years, much attention has been focused on the identification of genes that are differentially expressed between normal and disease states: the isolation of disease-specific genes is not only essential for our understanding of the molecular basis of pathological conditions, but may potentially highlight novel therapeutic targets.