Intervention studies in cardiovascular disease models so far (Table 1) have revealed a number of promising leads that target pathogenic mast cells per se (mast cell stabilizers) or mast cell constituents such as chymase, tryptase, histamine, IFNγ and IL6, which may have high therapeutic potential in the prevention of plaque rupture, aneurysm formation and possibly other cardiovascular disorders. The gene discussed is IL6; the disease is aneurysm.