VEGFA and atherosclerosis: Oxygen plays an important role in atherosclerosis formation, and hypoxia can increase the oxygen-induced factor-1 (HIF-1) expression that exists in macrophages and macrophage-derived foam cells and can promote inflammation, proliferation, and migration of smooth muscle cells, increasing the expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which can promote neovascularization.