The clearance of plasma LDL is mediated by the LDL receptor (LDLR) (Brown and Goldstein, 1986; Ishibashi et al., 1993), whose deficiency in human causes a massive elevation of plasma TC (600-1000 mg/dl) and consequently leads to fulminant atherosclerosis (Goldstein and Brown, 1989). Here, LDLR is linked to atherosclerosis.