text: A case–control study of hospitalized patients found that the blood plasma levels of CMTM5 protein and CMTM5 messenger RNA (i.e. mRNA) in 350 patients with coronary artery disease were significantly higher than a matched group of 350 patients without this disease. The same research group similarly studied 124 hospitalized patients who had in place a coronary artery stent. They found that high blood plasma levels of CMTM5 mRNA were associated with a higher rate of subsequently developing stenosis (i.e. narrowing) in their stents than patients with lower levels of this mRNA. Furthermore, the forced overexpression of the CMTM5 gene inhibited the proliferation and migration of cultured human endothelial cells, while the forced suppression of the CMTM5 gene promote the proliferation of these cells. These studies suggest that the CMTM5 gene, one of its mRNAs, and/or one of its CMTM5 proteins may promote atherosclerosis-based coronary artery disease and the stenosis of coronary artery stents and do so by inhibiting vascular endothelial cells from functioning to inhibit atherosclerosis and stent occlusion. More studies are necessary to confirm and further define these relationships; to determine if expression of the CMTM5 gene's or its products can be used as makers for patient susceptibilities to coronary artery/stent occlusions; and to determine if this gene or its products can be used clinically as targets for preventing or decreasing  the frequency of these occlusions.