Consistent with this, a clinical trial conducted on 235 (114 black, 121 white) rheumatoid arthritis patients showed that apelin concentration in the serum was associated with altered levels of plaque stability mediators (MMP-2, MMP-9) and atherosclerosis, in a manner partly dependent on population origin and systemic inflammatory status (Gunter et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene APLN and atherosclerosis.