Interestingly, DPP-4 inhibition improves cardiac function and reduces myocardial ischemia through SDF-1a/CXCR4-mediated STAT3 signaling (Kubota et al., 2016) and exerts an antiapoptotic effect on HUVEC under hypoxic conditions (Nagamine et al., 2017). Here, STAT3 is linked to myocardial ischemia.