STAT3 and atherosclerosis: Chen and coauthors suggest that activation of the pathway STAT3/microRNA-21 is involved in angiotensin-induced angiogenesis and that inhibition of PTEN via STAT3 by the miR-21 induction in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC) exposed to Ang II is part of an epigenetic connector combining angiogenesis with atherosclerosis [35].