MMP9 and arteriosclerosis disorder: We compared the two groups with/without ILT to assess whether the presence of ILT influenced adventitial VV arteriosclerosis or the expression of other molecules such as HIF-1α, Heme B, MMP-9, etc. However, no differences were observed between these two groups, indicating that changes in adventitial VV occurred irrespective of the presence of ILT (data not shown).