STK11 and atherosclerosis: To explore whether smooth muscle LKB1 deficiency facilitates atherosclerosis via LOX-1 in vivo, CTR and LKB1SMKO mice were infected with AAV9-shCON or AAV9-shLOX-1 under SM22α promoter, injected with AAV8/D377Y-mPCSK9, and fed a Paigen diet for 12 weeks.