Total RNA from human atherosclerotic tissue was isolated using the gentleMACSTM Octo Dissociator (Miltenyi Biotec) homogenization protocol for total RNA isolation and the QIAzol Lysis Reagent (Qiagen, Cat.# 79306), followed by RNA clean-up using the RNAeasy Mini kit (Qiagen, Cat.# 74104). 2ng of RNA were used as input for library prep. RNA libraries for RNA-seq were prepared using Low input Clontech SMART-Seq HT with Nxt HT poly-A library construction.