Cx43 also has atherogenic properties as decreasing Cx43 expression reduces the formation of atherosclerotic lesions in vivo (Kwak et al., 2003; Wong et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2013b) while in vivo Cx43 upregulation increased the expression of cell adhesion proteins such as VCAM-1, thereby enhancing monocyte-endothelial adhesion, a key event in initiating atherosclerosis (Yuan et al., 2015). Here, GJA1 is linked to atherosclerosis.