Importantly, hepatic interleukin (IL)-6 and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL1) drive a rapid and transient inflammatory response (35, 38) whilst primed splenocytes secrete tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and IL-2 (39); and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilises monocytes and neutrophils from the bone marrow following experimental stroke (40, 41). The gene discussed is CCL2; the disease is stroke disorder.