RNA Processing. Total RNA was purified using the RNAeasy micro kit on the QIAcube system (www.qiagen.com). RNA purity and concentration was checked using 260/280 nm absorbance ratio and RNA integrity was analyzed using the Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 (Agilent Technologies).

Array Processing: All arrays were processed by Lorne Rose in the UTHSC Molecular Resources Center (MRC), Memphis TN. The table below provides a summary of cases, sex, and age. The spleen was dissected by both Dr. Lu Lu and colleagues and Dr. Abdeltawab and colleagues. All arrays were run together (interleaved) as a single large batch.