RNA sequencing analysis Reveal Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment related genes in Hippocampus of Cerebral Ischemic Rat

In summary, a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the possible DEGs and pathways involved in tMCAO rats with cognitive impairment and Sham rats was conducted. DEGs, such as Acta2, Calb2, Cxcl12, as well as the intestinal immune and steroid biosynthesis may play a pivotal role in mechanism of PSCI. Overall design: Infarct volume was measured using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain after tMCAO model was established. Morris Water Maze (MWM) and Luxol fast blue staining were performed to assess the cognitive function and white matter (WM) lesion of rats. Furthermore, to explore the underlying mechanism, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hippocampus of rats in the tMCAO group and Sham group were compared using RNA sequencing. Then, gene ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, was conducted to elaborate these DEGs. The expression of 6 randomly selected DEGs were validated by qPCR assays.