Exploring the common pathogenesis of calcific aortic valve disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through bioinformatics analysis

Abstract Background There are many similarities in the pathogenesis of calcified aortic valve disease (CAVD) and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). In this study, we aim to find potential key genes and pathways connected with both diseases, using bioinformatics approaches, we hope to search for some new targets to treat the two diseases. Methods We download gene expression profiles of CAVD (GSE12644, GSE51472) and ASCVD(GSE100927) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. After identifying the common differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs) for CAVD and ASCVD, we perform enrichment analysis of these co-DEGs and construct a PPI network. Subsequently, the hub genes were screened, and we validated the hub genes in other datasets. Finally, we validated the diagnostic value of these genes. Besides, we also performed an immune infiltration analysis. Results We eventually identified 55 co-DEGs from the two disease datasets which will be used for subsequent analysis. Enrichment analysis of these common genes showed that both chemokines and cytokines play an important role in CAVD and ASCVD. By using Cytohubba and MCODE plug-ins, we identified 14 hub genes, and after validation in other datasets, "CCR1", "TREM1", "MMP9", "CCL5", "TYROBP", "LY86", "LAPTM5" were selected as the final hub genes for this study. These 7 hub genes have high value in the diagnosis of CAVD and ASCVD. In addition, immune infiltration analysis also revealed dysregulation of immune cells in both CAVD and ASCVD. Conclusions Our study found common key genes of CAVD and ASCVD, which may be closely related to the pathogenesis of the two diseases. Our study identified key genes common to CAVD and ASCVD, which may be closely related to the occurrence and development of both diseases