CXCL8 and atherosclerosis: According to the previous studies, miR-146a inhibits interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK-1) and tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF-6) expression through negative feedback regulation (Ramkaran et al., 2014), causing decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and critical transcription factor in atherosclerosis such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and resulting inhibition of nuclear factor (NF)-κB via the Toll-like receptor pathway (Guo et al., 2010).