CCL2 and ischemic stroke: In experimental ischemic stroke models, a decrease of claudin-5 and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) (markers of blood brain barrier), more Evans blue leakage and an increase of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 2 (CCL2) (proinflammatory chemokine), were observed in aged rats, compared with their younger counterparts (DiNapoli et al., 2010; Shen et al., 2019).