Briefly, we induced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis by intraperitoneally injecting mice with an adeno-associated virus that overexpresses proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9-AAV) and feeding them a Western diet (WD) for 10 weeks (17, 18). This evidence concerns the gene PCSK9 and familial hypercholesterolemia.