NOS2 and atherosclerosis: Some risk factors such as dyslipidemia, oxidized lipids, and cytokines can activate polarization of M1 macrophages that secrete proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and iNOS, thereby creating inflammatory environment and promoting the development of atherosclerosis (Khallou-Laschet et al., 2010; Colin et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2014; Raggi et al., 2018).