Identification of potential biological biomarkers for acute ischemic stroke based on integrated bioinformatics analyses.

Ischemic stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide, accounting for approximately 66% of all stroke cases. Stroke has been reported to cause approximately 6.5 million deaths annually, and the global disability-adjusted life years attributable to stroke are projected to exceed 200 million by 2030. Therefore, identifying reliable diagnostic biomarkers for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and exploring their underlying molecular mechanisms are of great importance for early disease recognition and clinical intervention. Transglutaminases (TGases) are widely distributed in the central nervous system and play important roles in inflammatory responses, neural repair, and vascular regulation. In this study, multiple bioinformatics approaches were used to identify TGM2 as a candidate gene associated with AIS. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data were further integrated to analyze the expression pattern of TGM2 across different cell types and to explore its potential intercellular communication context. Finally, TGM2 expression was validated in peripheral blood samples from patients with AIS. This study provides new evidence supporting the potential involvement of TGM2 in AIS and its value as a candidate biomarker.