VCAM1 and MELAS: In a recent study on endothelial cells from patients with MELAS due to the variant m.3243A>G, it was found that endothelial cells were diseased and found to be pro-atherogenic and pro-inflammatory due to high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), OxLDLs, and a high basal expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), particularly isoform-b [12].