LDLR and atherosclerosis: Additionally, the recent discovery of a different metabolic pathway in endothelial cells, involving LDL uptake and transcytosis into endothelial cells through the acting-like kinase 1 (ALK1), in the absence of LDLR, has drawn more attention toward LDLR-independent mechanisms in order to more successfully address LDL accumulation and atherosclerosis (Kraehling et al., 2016).