CCL2 and atherosclerosis: Hypertension, atherosclerosis and CAD are characterized as chronic inflammatory diseases and are clinically associated with increased expression of important pro-inflammatory receptors (e.g., toll-like receptors (TLR) and receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE)) and molecules (e.g., high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2) [8,37].