Quantitative measurement of epithelial and mesenchymal markers at the mRNA levels indicated that the majority of the epithelial-specific E-cadherin+++ and EpCAM+++ population resided within the cells of the NAD spheroids while the mesenchymal-specific N-Cadherin+++, vimentin+++ and CD44+++ population dominated the AD population. The gene discussed is VIM; the disease is Alzheimer disease.