Representative apoptotic genes that were downregulated in female MMP-3 KO stroke brains included Bax, Casp4, Casp9, Bik, Casp7, Casp6, Bcl10, Bmf, Tnf, Tnfrsf1a, and Tnfrsf1b (Figure 4D, Figure 5B and Figure A3B). Here, CASP4 is linked to stroke disorder.