Consistent with this finding, our previous work has also characterized miR-143/145 as nuclear miRNA to activate SOX2 transcription by Ago2-modified H3K9me3 in bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs).55 Here, we further demonstrated the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of nuclear miR-143/145 in activating the anti-phagocytic signal of macrophages and linked this manipulation to P. gingivalis-promoted atherosclerosis. This evidence concerns the gene SOX2 and atherosclerosis.