VCAM1 and inflammation: The process of vascular inflammation is accompanied by a pro-inflammatory phenotype which is characterized by an activation of key markers like intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), selectin E (SELE), and platelet and endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (CD31) [16, 25, 33, 39].