As the full length reelin (~400-kd) or its central fragment R3-6 (340 kd) is too large to be used in gene transfer studies, the reelin subregion R5-6 (~88kd) could be a valuable tool in future studies for investigating the effect of VLDLR/apoER2 on atherosclerosis in animal models. Here, VLDLR is linked to atherosclerosis.