LDLR and atherosclerosis: Interestingly, 1 year-old LDLR−/− mice fed vitamin D-deficient chow diet showed higher blood pressure, but increased atherosclerosis only in the proximal aorta and not in the thoracic or abdominal segments, similar to previous studies in chow fed LDLR−/− mice [63], supporting the concept that other insults must be present, such as hyperlipidemia, to work synergistically with the effects of vitamin D deficiency (hypertension, immunomodulation, macrophage cholesterol deposition) to induce atherosclerosis in aortic areas of low turbulence.