Investigating potential ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes and biomarkers of ischemic stroke in elderly women using bioinformatics

OBJECTIVE: Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men and are more likely to die from it. Ferroptosis is a recently discovered form of programmed cell death implicated in many diseases. The role of ferroptosis-related genes in the diagnosis, prognosis. and treatment of elderly women with ischemic stroke (IS) requires additional clarification. This paper aimed to screen ferroptosis-related genes associated with IS in elderly women and to identify hub genes and candidate drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in elderly women with IS were identified by bioinformatics analysis of the GSE22255 and ferroptosis-related gene datasets. Subsequently, ferroptosis-related hub genes were used to predict targeted miRNA, construct the miRNA-mRNA network, and identify candidate drugs. RESULTS: Eleven ferroptosis-related DEGs were identified in elderly women with IS vs. controls. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that the 11 genes were mainly enriched in the IL-17. TNF, and NF-kappa B signaling pathways. Moreover. the hub genes suggested 10 ferroptosis-related biomarkers for IS, including SOCS1, IFNG, TNFAIP3, IL1B, IL-6, PTGS2, DDIT3, CXCL2, NFE2L2. and ATF3. Furthermore, our findings revealed the miRNA-mRNA network of the hub genes and identified candidate drugs. 10 potential therapeutic compounds, especially estradiol CTD 00005920, corresponded to the 10 key genes which could be targets for IS treatment in elderly women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested ferroptosis-related DEGs (SOCS1, 1FNG, TNFAIP3, IL1B, IL-6, PTGS2, DDIT3, CXCL2, NFE2L2. and ATF3) as potential biomarkers for IS diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, providing additional evidence of the important role of ferroptosis in IS in elderly women.