Low-grade chronic inflammation in regions of the normal mouse arterial intima predisposed to atherosclerosis

Atherosclerotic lesions develop in regions of arterial curvature and branch points, which are exposed to disturbed blood flow and have unique gene expression patterns. The cellular and molecular basis for atherosclerosis susceptibility in these regions is not completely understood. In the intima of atherosclerosis-predisposed regions of the wild-type C57BL/6 mouse aorta, we quantified increased expression of several proinflammatory genes that …