Its key role in atherosclerosis was demonstrated in mice model showing that atherosclerotic lesion size was significantly smaller in animals deficient in TNF, which was associated with decreased expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) [17]. Here, CCL2 is linked to atherosclerosis.