Interestingly, TNFα and IL-1β have also been shown to induce VCAM-1 expression by this pathway[11] and may account in the absence of hyperlipidemia but under hyperglycemic conditions (such as in the diabetic wt mice in this study), for the observed up-regulation of VCAM-1 in retinal vessels. Here, VCAM1 is linked to hyperlipidemia.