The response of endothelial cells to exogenous HMGB1 has been studied in relation to its possible pro-inflammatory role in vascular disease. Endothelial cells release TNFα, IL-8, and MCP-1, all of which enhance the local inflammatory en-vironment (57, 58) . Additionally, HMGB1 stimulation appears to increase the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on the surface of endothelial cells, thus increasing the adhesion of inflammatory cells (57, 58) . These effects appear to be at least partially mediated by RAGE, which also appears to be upregulated in HMGB1stimulated endothelial cells (57, 58) .