The relevance of T-cell autophagy in the development of atherosclerosis has been investigated using T-cell-specific Atg7 deletion (in LckCre+Atg7flox/flox mice) after adenoviral-mediated overexpression of Pcsk9. In this study, deficiency of T-cell autophagy resulted in a reduction of the burden of atherosclerosis without affecting macrophage infiltration, in lower CD4+ and CD8+ cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues and limited inflammatory potency in naïve T-cells [151]. This evidence concerns the gene CD4 and atherosclerosis.