Taken together, these results, the mechanistic findings in animal models of atherosclerosis, and our correlative findings between LDL cholesterol and CX3CL1 levels in humans, suggest that CX3CL1 may represent a biomarker of the inflammatory component of atherosclerosis and potentially define subjects at increased risk for atherosclerotic disease events. This evidence concerns the gene CX3CL1 and atherosclerosis.