VCAM1 and HIV infectious disease: In light of our findings and the published report that exposure of human aortic endothelial cells to combinations of protease inhibitors and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors resulted in increased expression of ICAM-1 VCAM-1, and endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule [49], it can be envisioned that HIV infection and ART together can lead to higher risk of development of CVD.