CCL2 and atherosclerosis: In initial experiments to determine whether cytokine and chemokine profiles in BALF or plasma correlated with atherogenic responses, we measured concentrations of four inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IFN-γ, MCP-1, and MIP-2) previously associated with lung inflammation after asbestos exposure (Haegens et al. 2007; Sabo-Attwood et al. 2005), as well as the appearance of atherosclerosis (Hansson 2001) in BALF and in plasma obtained from ApoE−/− mice exposed to clean air or chrysotile asbestos fibers for 30 days.