AKT1 and carotid atherosclerosis: The results of the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the DE-ATGs were mainly enriched in autophagy, lipid, and carotid atherosclerosis, PI3K − Akt signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, indicating the autophagy and immune activation, as well as lipid metabolism disorders (Fig. 1E).