CXCR4 and Atherosclerotic lesion: Systematic inhibition of CXCR4 using receptor antagonists and genetic deletion of vascular CXCR4 has been associated with a reduction in SMC content in the neointima of injured murine carotid arteries and in lipid-induced atherosclerotic lesions, whereas the application of EPCs favored increased accumulation of SMCs in the neointima [9,13,14,20,23], suggesting CXCR4 and EPC-dependent alterations in the migratory capacity of SMCs.