Hernández-Aguilera A, Fibla M, Cabré N, et al. - Given that controlling leukocyte migration into the wall of the artery as well as regulating the traffic of inflammatory cells are known functions of chemokines, especially chemokine (C-C- motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), and the adherence of CCL2 to functional receptors as well as to atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs), which do not cause cell migration but can alter chemokine gradients, has been reported, researchers undertook this inquiry to determine where and to what degree CCL2 and associated receptors exist in diseased arteries that provoked the death of men with coronary artery disease vs unaffected arteries. Marginal detection of CCL2 in normal arteries but its more frequent presence in the intima was revealed. Diseased arteries exhibited significantly increased expression of CCL2 and associated receptors, with relative variations among the artery layers. Increases of CCL2 and ACKR1 were the highest relative increases. CCL2 expression was found to be related to a significant predictive value of atherosclerosis. These data are indicative of the requirement for more insight into receptor specificity or activity and the interplay among chemokines. The atherosclerotic arteries exhibited overexpressed CCL2-related conventional and atypical receptors, which may propose novel potential treatment targets to locally alter the overall anti-inflammatory response.