In order to develop a diabetic atherosclerotic mouse model with characteristics that closely resemble the human T2D driven cardiovascular disease, we cross-bred the above-mentioned mouse model (GK+/−) into an apolipoprotein E (ApoE−/−) deficient background, to derive a heterozygous glucokinase and apolipoprotein E-knockout mouse (GK+/−ApoE−/−). Here, GK is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.