LDLR and familial hypercholesterolemia: The WHHL rabbit, in particular, is an animal model of human familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) due to a genetic defect in its low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr); that leads to a delayed clearance of LDL particles from the circulation and consequently to hyperlipidemia and spontaneous atherosclerosis [22, 25].