The identified TFs involved in differentiation mainly included Atf3, Klf5, Stat3, Myf6, and Myod1. Atf3, an upstream regulator of pro-inflammatory smooth muscle cell, is involved in the transition of diseased smooth muscle cell to initial atherosclerosis, and restoration of Atf3 activity prevents dedifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cell (Wang et al., 2021). Here, STAT3 is linked to atherosclerosis.