In atherosclerosis, the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) contributes to vessel wall inflammation and lipoprotein retention, as well as to the formation of the fibrous cap that provides stability ...

At the later stages of disease (whether atherosclerosis or obesity), macrophage death is generally assumed to have deleterious consequences, such as the rupture of vascular plaques and excess ...

The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is outlined above in only the broadest terms. Several different views about the stages of plaque progression have been proposed; this area is subject to ongoing ...