CCL2 and Obesity: There is a fair amount of evidence in experimental models of breast cancer that obesity and fatty diet are linked to inflammation within the mammary tissue (macrophage-induced crown-like structures or CLS), morphological increases in fibrous tissue, upregulation of aromatase activity (associated with increased number of fat cells expressing the gene) and other biomarkers of inflammation, such as CC-chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2).