2.2. Mouse experiment

Male ApoE knockout mice (ApoE^−/−, purchased from Shanghai Model Organisms), aged 8 weeks, were fed with high‐fat high‐cholesterol diet (HFHC, 40% fat and 0.15% cholesterol, Cat#D12079B, Research diets). After 12‐week HFHC feeding, 1 × 10⁹ lentiviral particles encoding villin‐drived Fabp2 siRNA or control siRNA (Veh) were singly administrated by tail‐vein injection. Then, the mice were killed, and aorta, small intestine and serum were collected for further analysis after another 8‐week HFHC feeding. The mice were housed in 25 ± 2°C, SPF condition. All animal experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Research and Teaching Committee at the Harbin Medical University (Harbin, China).