To model the early stages of atherosclerosis in the TEBV system and identify the contribution of a pro-inflammatory cytokine in early atherosclerosis development, TEBVs were exposed to a shear stress of 0.4 Pa for one week and then perfused with media containing 50 μg/ml eLDL with or without 50 U/ml TNFα (Fig. 3a). The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is atherosclerosis.