The increased expression of Sema7a in epithelial cells is closely related to the severity of atherosclerosis (21), and Sema7a has been shown to not only exacerbate inflammation but also promote fibrosis that is associated with EMT (70, 72); in an animal model, the expression of Sema7a in lung tissue was dependent on TGF-β1 (73). Here, TGFB1 is linked to atherosclerosis.