NFKB1 and endothelial dysfunction: On the other hand, IL6/STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways have been reported to be important regulators in the progression of atherosclerosis, including endothelial dysfunction, cytokine secretion, macrophage polarization, foam cell formation, proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, and cell death [58,59,60,61,62].