Andrew Baker and a noted panel of expert investigators describe today's most powerful molecular methods for investigating the pathogenesis of vascular disease. These detailed, easy-to-follow techniques range from methods that have been used successfully to identify specific mutations involved in cardiovascular disorders, to those for transferring genes associated with cardiovascular disease into various vascular cell types by in vitro and in vivo routes. There are methods to identify novel genes and generate full-length cDNAs, to study gene transcription and promoter activity easily and effectively, and to ascertain precisely gene expression levels within the individual cell types in different pathophysiological conditions. Vascular Disease: Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy Protocols offers today's vascular biologist and gene therapist an unprecedented ability to study the pathogenesis of vascular disease and readily to probe the potential for gene-based therapies.

Genetics in Vascular Disease.- Detection of Mutations and DNA Polymorphisms in Genes Involved in Cardiovascular Diseases by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analysis.- Analysis of Genetic Variants in Cardiovascular Risk Genes by Heteroduplex Analysis.- Radiation Hybrid (RH) Mapping of Human Smooth Muscle-Restricted Genes.- Isolation of Genes Expressed in Vasular Tissue.- Efficient Extraction of RNA from Vascular Tissue.- Preparation of cDNA Libraries from Vascular Cells.- Screening cDNA Libraries Using Partial Probes to Isolate Full-Length cDNAs from Vascular Cells.- Cloning Full-Length cDNAs from Vascular Tissues and Cells by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE) and RT-PCR.- Use of cDNA Representational Difference Analysis to Identify Disease-Specific Genes in Human Atherosclerotic Plaques.- The Use of Differential mRNA Display (DDRT-PCR) to Identify Genes Differentially Expressed in Normal and Diseased Vascular Cells.- Identification of Novel Protein Kinases in Vascular Cells.- Methods for Mapping Transcriptional Start Sites and Measurement of Promoter Activity in Vascular Cells.- Primer Extension Analysis to Map Transcription Start Sites of Vascular Genes.- Use of Liposome-Mediated DNA Transfection to Determine Promoter Activity in Smooth Muscle Cells.- Nuclear Run-On Assay to Study Gene Transcription in Vascular Cells.- Electromobility Shift Analysis (EMSA) Applied to the Study of NF-kappa B Binding Interactions in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.- Molecular Analysis of MRNA Expression in Vascular Cells.- Measurement of Gene Expression in the Vascular Wall by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Analysis.- Northern Blot Analysis to Quantify Gene Expression in Vascular Diseases.- Localization of Gene Expression inHuman Atherosclerotic Lesions by In SituHybridization.- RNase Protection Assays for Quantitation of Gene Expression in Vascular Tissue.- Molecular Methods to Study Apoptosis and Phenotypic Changes in Vascular Cells and Tissus.- Detection of Apoptosis in Atherosclerosis and Restenosis by Terminal dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL).- In Vitro Detection of Apoptosis in Isolated Vascular Cells.- Molecular Assessment of the Phenotypic Changes Associated with Smooth Muscle Cells Using Two-Dimension Electrophoresis and Microsequence Analysis.- In Vitro Methods to Express Foreign Genes in Vasular Cells.- Simple Methods for Preparing Recombinant Adenoviruses for High-Efficiency Transduction of Vascular Cells.- Generation of Recombinant Adeno-Associated Viruses for Delivery of Genes into Vascular Cells.- Hemagglutinating Virus of Japan Liposome-Mediated Gene Delivery to Vascular Cells.- High-Efficiency and Low-Toxicity Adenovirus-Assisted Endothelial Transfection.- Gene Transfer in Vascular Cells Using an Engineered Na-H Exchanger (NHE1) as a Selectable Marker.- Use of Retroviruses to Express Exogenous Genes in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.- Embryonal Stem (ES) Cell-Derived Macrophages.- Delivery of Recombinant Adenoviruses to Human Saphenous Vein.- In Vivo Vascular Gene Transfer Protocols.- An In Vivo Angiogenesis Assay to Study Positive and Negative Regulators of Neovascularization.- Efficient Liposome-Mediated Gene Transfer to Rabbit Carotid Arteries In Vivo.- Gene Delivery to Rabbit Arteries Using the Collar Model.- Delivery of Antisense Oligonucleotides to the Vascular Wall.- Local Gene Delivery of Recombinant Adenoviruses to the Rat Carotid Artery In Vivo.