ACAN and Vascular dilatation: In human aneurysmal disease, previous studies have shown increased protein and transcript levels of ADAMTS-1 and -4 in TAA.10 Consistent with our findings, a recent study reported decreased ADAMTS5 expression and increased deposition of proteoglycans, such as aggrecan and versican in human TAA.8 Finally, changes in ADAMTS activity are likely to be associated with the proteolysis of other proteins apart from versican.