APOE and atherosclerosis: After 12 weeks of high-fat feeding and as expected, Timp3−/−/Apoe−/− mice displayed accelerated atherosclerosis compared with control Timp3+/+/Apoe−/− animals, as assessed by morphometric analyses of lesion area in cross-sections of the aortic root (2.5-fold; P<0.05; Figure 3A) and the brachiocephalic artery (5.7-fold; P<0.05; Figure 3B).