A large body of evidence shows that SIRT1 protects against atherosclerosis [48, 51-54] through multiple mechanisms, such as improving endothelial function [53, 55], inhibiting macrophage-derived foam cell formation [56], impeding the proliferation, migration [57] and DNA-damage associated apoptosis [58] of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), as well as suppressing thrombosis [59]. This evidence concerns the gene SIRT1 and atherosclerosis.