When mice lack a specific receptor called FFAR4 and eat a high-fat diet, their artery plaques develop bigger dead-cell areas inside, which makes the plaques more dangerous.

Even though the overall size of the plaque in the heart’s main artery didn’t change in mice without FFAR4 after 16 weeks, the dead-cell core inside got much bigger — meaning the plaque became more dangerous even if it didn’t grow.

After eating a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, male and female mice without FFAR4 had smaller artery plaques in the aortic sinus, but not in the aortic arch — suggesting FFAR4 might affect early plaque growth differently.

Male mice without the FFAR4 receptor develop bigger artery plaques in one specific area (the aortic arch) after eating a high-fat diet for 16 weeks, but female mice don't show this difference.

Mice without FFAR4 develop plaques with bigger dead-cell cores as their disease gets worse, which might mean FFAR4 helps keep plaques from becoming dangerous.