SREBF1 and diabetes mellitus: To gain insight into the clinical relevance of SREBP-1 to vascular inflammation in human atherosclerosis, aortic pouch biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with diabetes and coronary artery atherosclerosis and immunostained for SREBP-1, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SM-actin), and VCAM-1, a critical endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule in atherogenesis [6], [16].