CXCL12 and atherosclerosis: It is possible that under the conditions of systemic persistent low-grade inflammation observed in atherosclerosis and an increase in the content of CXCL12 in the systemic circulation and atherosclerotic plaque, there is a disturbance in the migration of ageing neutrophils to bone marrow, an increase in their lifespan and blood content, followed by their recruitment into inflammatory foci in the vascular wall (which may also be associated with an increase in the expression level of adhesion molecules on ageing neutrophils) [17,30].