CCL2 and Stroke: The chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1; also called CCL2) plays an essential role in several peripheral and CNS inflammatory disorders characterized by mononuclear cell infiltrates, and inhibiting MCP-1 in mouse models of atherosclerosis, stroke and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis resulted in a decrease in inflammatory cell recruitment and reduced disease severity [21-23].