Taken together, these findings suggest that in Apoe-/- mice fed a normal chow diet, the progression of atherosclerosis towards late disease stages is coincident with the ubiquitous development of extensive atherosclerotic lesions in all three left coronary artery major branches (LADCA, CIRCUMFLEX, and LMCA) and that the resultant partial occlusion of the lumen of coronary arteries by atherosclerotic plaques is a histopathological characteristic of late disease stages, but not intermediate or early stages (Figure 5a–f). The gene discussed is APOE; the disease is atherosclerosis.