ACE2 and atherosclerosis: Numerous previous studies clearly indicate that the RAS plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis with endothelial dysfunction as its early event, and that the balance between two major axes of RAS, i.e., ACE/Ang II and ACE2/Ang-(1–7), is a key determinant of RAS beneficial vs. detrimental effects (Wang et al., 2013; Olkowicz et al., 2015; Cahill and Redmond, 2016).