MMP9 and Cerebral ischemia: Of these 9 genes, we selected 5 (VEGFA, ANGPT2, PAI-1, BNIP3, MMP9), as they are known to be involved in crucial pathological processes of cerebral ischemia, such as brain edema, cerebral vascular permeability (VEGFA, ANGPT2, PAI-1), apoptosis (BNIP3) as well as blood brain barrier disruption (MMP9) [15,35,36].