In the acute stage of ischemic stroke in the human brain, in the zone surrounding the fresh infarct (known as the penumbra), microglia are activated by LPC derived from adjacent neurons and astrocytes through G2A or P2RX7 to produce the inflammatory chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and C–C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2)11. Here, CCL2 is linked to ischemic stroke.