SPP1/AnxA1/TIMP1 as Essential Genes Regulate the Inflammatory Response in the Acute Phase of Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion in Rats

Qian-Qian Nie,1,* Zong-Qing Zheng,2,* Juan Liao,1 Yu-Chao Li,3 Yan-Ting Chen,1 Tian-Ye Wang,1 Gui-Qiang Yuan,4 Zhong Wang,2 Qun Xue1 1Department of Neurology & Brain and Nerve Research Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurosurgery & Brain and Nerve Research Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurosurgery & Brain and Nerve Research Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changshu Second People’s Hospital, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qun Xue; Zhong Wang, Department of Neurology & Brain and Nerve Research Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Ganjiang Road, Suzhou, 215021, People’s Republic of China, Email XueQun2578@163.com; wangzhong_8761@163.comBackground: Ischemic injury in stroke is followed by extensive neurovascular inflammation and changes in ischemic penumbra gene expression patterns. However, the key molecules involved in the inflammatory response during the acute phase of ischemic stroke remain unclear.Methods: Gene expression profiles of two rat ischemic stroke-related data sets, GSE61616 and GSE97537, were downloaded from the GEO database for Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Then, GEO2R was used to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Furthermore, 170 differentially expressed intersection genes were screened and analyzed for Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment. Candidate genes and miRNAs were obtained by DAVID, Metascape, Cytoscape, STRING, and TargetScan. Finally, the rat middle cerebral artery occlus