Figure 4. ALK-1 mRNA expression and plasma thrombomodulin (TM) level. (a) The expression of ALK-1 mRNA. From the results of the real-time quantitive PCR, the relative quantity is the ratio of ALK-1 mRNA/Alb (internal control). There were no significant differences of ALK-1 mRNA expression level among the patients (column 1, n = 6), the healthy individuals of the family (column 2, n = 7), and normal controls (column 3, n = 50). Results are expressed as means of 3 experiments in triplicate ± SD. (b) Plasma thrombomodulin of the patients (column A, n = 6) and healthy individuals (column B, n = 7) in this family, and of normal controls (column C, n = 50). There was a significantly higher thrombomodulin level in patients (p < 0.001) than in healthy individuals in this family and normal controls. No significant difference of plasma thrombmodulin level was found between healthy individuals in this family and normal controls. Results are expressed as means of 3 experiments ± SD.