The best evidence for the physiologic mechanisms of CETP, however, comes from looking at its effects in rabbits. As summarized in the Figure, rabbits have a naturally, physiologically high level of CETP activity. Rabbits are also highly susceptible to the development of atherosclerosis (which is one reason why rabbits have been the most common model for atherosclerosis for the last 100 years). But most significantly, inhibition of CETP in all rabbit models decreases atherosclerosis, and that is whether the decrease is achieved by genetic manipulation, by a vaccine against CETP, or by small molecule inhibitors of CETP.
J Clin Lipidol. 2011; 5(6).