To investigate if low-grade inflammation can indeed aggravate atherosclerosis, Geng et al. used apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-deficient mice (ApoE-/-, Jackson, male, 7–10 weeks) that received a high-fat diet (HFD) and were additionally treated with 5 ng/kg LPS every 2–3 days for 4 weeks, followed by HFD only for additional 4 weeks. Here, APOE is linked to atherosclerosis.