IL6 and atherosclerosis: Atherosclerosis, as already mentioned concerning the role of oxidized LDL, is an inflammatory disease: monocytes that differentiate into macrophages as they migrate towards the forming plaque, release significant quantities of inflammatory cytokines at the site of the lesion—such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNF-α—which are responsible for stimulating the liver to produce C-reactive protein (CRP).