APOE and atherosclerosis: Female mice, lacking the apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene, and therefore susceptible to atherosclerosis, were separated into 3 groups of 10–15 mice, each exposed to a high-fat diet (21% wt milk fat and 1.5% wt cholesterol) but with differing concentrations of dietary silicon, namely: silicon-deprived (−Si; <3-μg silicon/g feed), silicon-replete in feed (+Si-feed; 100-μg silicon/g feed), and silicon-replete in drinking water (+Si-water; 115-μg silicon/mL) for 15–19 wk.