Leptin has been shown to participate in the development of atherosclerosis in several ways: inducing oxidative stress; increasing the production of MCP-1, endotelin-1 (ET-1) which leads to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy; promoting migration, proliferation, hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), and vascular cell wall calcification; stimulating platelet aggregation; attenuating cardiomyocyte contractility through increased nitric oxide production, reduction of intracellular calcium, and decreased β-adrenergic response [95]. The gene discussed is CCL2; the disease is atherosclerosis.