Although AGEs have been shown to upregulate MCP1 expression in human mesangial cells 39, and circulating AGEs and sRAGE levels have been shown to be the independent determinants of MCP1 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes 40, the correlation and composite score analyses did not support the cooperation between RAGE and MCP1 in our study population. The gene discussed is CCL2; the disease is type 2 diabetes mellitus.