Bioinformatic identification and characterization of human endothelial cell-restricted genes

Background: In this study, we used a systematic bioinformatics analysis approach to elucidate genes that exhibit an endothelial cell (EC) restricted expression pattern, and began to define their regulation, tissue distribution, and potential biological role. Results:Using a high throughput microarray platform, a primary set of 1,191 transcripts that are enriched in different primary ECs compared to non-ECs was identified (LCB \u3e3, FDR Conclusion: The study provides an initial catalogue of EC-restricted genes most of which are ubiquitously expressed in different endothelial cells