DDIT3 and atherosclerosis: To further explore the mechanisms underlying the stabilizing effect of IMD on the atherosclerotic plaque, we first checked the expression of CHOP in the lesion and then used CHOP-deficient atherosclerosis mice (ApoE−/−CHOP−/−) (Supplementary Fig. 5A) to confirm the role of CHOP-mediated macrophage apoptosis in plaque vulnerability.