In contrast, glomerular and interstitial lesions in the kidney were attenuated in female mice deficient in Apoe and Itga8 (Apoe−/−Itga8−/−) compared to male mice of the same genotype, which indicates that in this model, the female sex is protective for the development of renal injury, but not for the progression of atherosclerosis. Here, APOE is linked to atherosclerosis.