Both the plasma concentration of IL-10 and relative levels of the Il10 mRNA in the aorta were inversely correlated with atherosclerosis in ApoE-deficient mice (plasma IL-10 concentration: Spearman’s r = −0.46, p < 0.05; aortic expression of the Il10 mRNA: Spearman’s r = −0.56, p < 0.05) (Figure 3, panels (c) and (d)). Here, APOE is linked to atherosclerosis.