Cheng et al. 16 reported that transduction of cultured aortic bovine ECs with vectors expressing DKK-1 inhibits the expression of EC differentiation markers and promotes endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), a process of cellular trans-differentiation that has emerged as an important driver of atherosclerosis progression and vascular calcification17,18. This evidence concerns the gene DKK1 and atherosclerosis.