We hypothesized that several factors, such as high oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL), may activate ADAM17 to shear membrane TIMD4 (mTIMD4) protein on the surface, resulting in a decrease of mTIMD4 and an increase of sTIMD4 in serum, and thus reduces the clearance ability of macrophages and exacerbates the progression of atherosclerosis. This evidence concerns the gene ADAM17 and atherosclerosis.