VCAM1 and atherosclerosis: In a mouse atherosclerosis model with disturbed blood flow, RBC accumulation was associated with microscopic breaches in the endothelium and increased expression of VCAM-1, suggesting that endothelial disruption permits entry of RBCs and leukocytes into lesions, promoting vascular inflammation; these changes recapitulate findings in human coronary atherosclerosis (43, 67).