HIV-infected macrophages that expressed Nef not only contained far more lipid-containing vacuoles than uninfected cells or cells infected with Nef-deficient HIV, they also synthesized molecules associated with cholesterol accumulation and cholesterol-laden “foam cells.” And when the authors analyzed atherosclerotic plaque sections taken from patients with HIV who had been treated with anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), they found HIV-infected, cholesterol-laden macrophages in the atherosclerotic plaque—suggesting that these cells contribute to arterial disease. This evidence concerns the gene S100B and arterial disorder.