AKT1 and inflammatory bowel disease: It is reasonable to speculate that NKX2-3 regulates VEGF expression through IL8, ANGPT2, KLF2, and KLF4 or direct regulation of VEGF. Although the role of NKX2-3 in IBD is still unclear, its regulatory role in VEGF-eNOS strongly suggests that NKX2-3 could be involved in IBD pathogenesis by regulating the VEGF-PI3K/AKT-eNOS pathway.