CCL2 and chronic kidney disease: Recently, we demonstrated using in vitro and in vivo models that exposure of endothelium to uremic plasma results in time- and CKD-stage-dependent increased expressions of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and interleukin-8, which suggest a link between vascular activation, systemic inflammation, and uremic toxicity [28].