CCL2 and Hypertension: Ang II likely promotes the destabilization of plaques through multifactorial mechanisms, including hypertension, chemotaxis of monocytes, activation of macrophages, altered sympathetic regulation of vasal tone, altered secretion of aldosterone and prostaglandin, generation of reactive oxygen species and over-expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in vascular SMCs.