CCL2 and metabolic syndrome: Several studies have shown that soluble inflammatory markers, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), CXCL16, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein are found at higher levels in patients with metabolic syndrome than in the age-matched controls [12,13,14,15].