MIF and atherosclerosis: Consistently, in vivo, in a rabbit model known to better recapitulate human atherosclerosis development31,32, and in the absence of additional risk factors beyond age, MIF expression is increased in regions of the aorta subjected to OS (pro-atherogenic) -lesser curvature and bifurcations, and virtually undetectable in areas subjected to LS (athero-protective), indicating that shear stress-dependent expression of MIF is an integral part of the initial stages of atherosclerosis and positively correlates with the known non-random development of atheroma in the aorta10.