VCAM1 and periodontitis: Periodontitis-induced activation of circulating monocytes, their increased adherence to aortic endothelial cells via nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65, and the elevation of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) in the latter are considered to be contributing factors to vascular inflammation (Miyajima et al., 2014; Shen et al., 2023; Kim et al., 2023).