Using a rat atherosclerosis model of carotid artery intimal thickening22, Li et al. showed that atorvastatin (10 mg/k/d for 14 days), in reducing intimal thickening, not only increased the arterial tissue content of CNP but also upregulated Nppc and its downstream target (cGPK) when compared to vehicle administration. This evidence concerns the gene CNP and atherosclerosis.