Significantly more TNF-a was found in wall segments adjacent to thick thrombus than in any other AAA compartments (compared to AAA wall underlying thin ILT: 0.03 ± 0.03 vs. 0.005 ± 0.009, p = 0.00005; thin ILT: 0.03 ± 0.03 vs. 0.001 ± 0.002, p = 0.00004; thick ILT: 0.03 ± 0.03 vs. 0.001 ± 0.03, p = 0.00005). The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is triple-A syndrome.