Fig 2: Construction of the diagnostic model. (A and B) LASSO regression was used to screen biomarkers. The dotted vertical lines show the optimal value through lambda.min and lambda.1 se. Diagnostic genes (n = 2) and their coefficients were selected according to lambda.1 se (C) Expression validations of the diagnostic genes IL-7 and VCAM-1 in the GSE138531 dataset. (D) ROC analysis of the diagnostic model; IL-7 and VCAM-1 in the GSE51472 dataset and GSE138531 dataset.

Fig 3: Levels of IL-7 and VCAM-1 in normal, sclerotic, and stenotic valves. (A) hematoxylin-eosin (HE), Masson, and alizarin red staining revealed the highest levels of IL-7 and VCAM-1 in stenotic aortic valves and relatively higher expressions of IL-7 and VCAM-1 in sclerotic aortic valves than in normal aortic valves (bar = 50 μm). (B) Quantification of IL-7 and VCAM-1 expression among the three groups. ****P < 0.0001.

Fig 4: The possible mechanisms IL7 and VCAM1 involved in for the disease progression. The two diagnostic genes, IL7 and VCAM1 interact with immune cells to promote the progression from AVS to AS together. By Figdraw.

Fig 5: Correlation analysis between IL-7 and VCAM-1 expression and immune cell infiltration. (A) Correlation analysis visualized using a heatmap. (B) Correlation analysis. (C) Bubble chart of correlations between IL-7 expressions and immune cell proportions. (D) Bubble chart of correlations between VCAM-1 expression and immune cell proportions. *P < 0.05. **P < 0.01.