AGT and atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis is a chronic, progressive disease manifested by lipid-laden macrophage and other leukocyte accumulation in lesions.53 The contribution of the RAS to atherosclerosis has been consistently demonstrated—ACE inhibitors and ARBs reduce lesion size and improve its cardiovascular outcomes in both human studies54,55 and animal models.56 Although the whole-body AGT deficient mouse was developed in the early 1990s,30,57 its severe growth and kidney development impairments impeded the use of this mouse for atherosclerosis studies.