Figure 1.

Overall diagram of atherosclerosis pathogenesis. (AS) pathogenesis is generally considered to be the result of the interaction among various mechanisms including lipid metabolism disorder, inflammatory cell infiltration, oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, and vascular endothelial cell damage, the latter of which ultimately leads to plaque rupture and thrombosis, causing serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Besides, miRNAs are involved in inflammatory cell regulation and thus other aspects of AS pathogenesis. AS, atherosclerosis; Ox-LDL, oxidized low-density lipoprotein.