Objective: This study aimed to identify and analyze gender-specific differences in mRNA expression in the peripheral whole blood of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients using bioinformatics.
Methods: mRNA expression data from the peripheral whole blood of AIS patients were obtained from GEO datasets. Male stroke-related mRNAs (M-mRNAs) and female stroke-related mRNAs (F-mRNAs) were identified using GEO2R. The biological functions of M-mRNAs and F-mRNAs were evaluated using GO and KEGG databases, and protein-protein interaction networks were created.
Results: A total of 39 M-mRNAs (36 upregulated and 3 downregulated) were expressed in the peripheral whole blood of male AIS patients, while 44 F-mRNAs (38 upregulated and 6 downregulated) were expressed in the peripheral whole blood of female AIS patients. Twelve genes were found to overlap among the differentially expressed genes. KEGG pathway analysis revealed enrichment in S. aureus infection-related genes among the differentially expressed genes.
Conclusions: This study identified gender-specific mRNA expression differences in the peripheral whole blood of AIS patients. The findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying AIS in males and females.