CCL2 and endothelial dysfunction: Endothelial dysfunction is considered the early stage of atherosclerosis; it draws leukocytes to sites of injury/lipid accumulation, propagating vascular injury and encouraging vascular smooth muscle proliferation and neointima formation actions driven by the expression of adhesion molecules (i.e., intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and oxidant-generating NADPH oxidases (NOXs).