discovered that while smoke exposure or Ang II treatment alone had minimal effects on Mmps expression levels in ApoE(−/−) mice, the combined exposure significantly upregulated the gene expression of Mmp‐2, ‐3, ‐8, ‐9, and ‐12 in abdominal aorta, leading to accelerated AAA formation and severity.140. The gene discussed is APOE; the disease is triple-A syndrome.