KDR and atherosclerosis: ARDs are characterized by accelerated atherosclerosis, increased incidence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and other comorbidities, which are partly mediated by dysregulation of signaling pathways involving adropin, including NB-3/Notch, AKT/CREB/BDNF, and VEGFR2/PI3K/AKT [12,32,81].