VCAM1 and endothelial dysfunction: At the early and middle stages of AS, endothelial dysfunction, secretion of chemokines and cytokines such as CCL2, IL-1β, TNF-α expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), accumulation of immune cells such as T lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages to the AS plaques, and migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to these plaques further aggravate inflammatory response (Ramji and Davies, 2015).