Oxysterols, and particularly 7-ketocholesterol, appear to be strongly involved in the physiopathology of atherosclerosis. These molecules are suspected to be cytotoxic to the cells of the vascular wall and mono-cytes⁄macrophages, particularly by inducing apoptosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that 7-ketocholesterol-induced apoptosis is triggered by a sustained increase of cytosolic-free Ca 2+ , which elicits the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by activation of the calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin, leading to dephosphorylation of the ‘BH3 only’ protein BAD
