VWF and atherosclerosis: Higher expression of lung Vwf in the siControl-treated APOE∗3-Leiden.CETP mice coincided with higher gene expression of essentially all selected genes, apart from Cd31. The differences in gene expressions between the mouse strains likely reflect presence of endothelial activation upon extended exposure to high cholesterol, a characteristic also found in other murine atherosclerosis models, such as Apoe−/− mice [29,30].