Table 2 demonstrates that the levels of NLRP3 inflammasome and occludin were highest in the large infarction group (NLRP3 inflammasome: 91.14 (54.72–131.52) pg/mL and occludin: 225.07 (166.25–286.52) ng/mL) among the three groups. A similar pattern was observed across different TOAST subtypes based on stroke etiology. Patients with cardiogenic embolism exhibited the highest concentrations of NLRP3 inflammasome (82.72 (57.88–136.03) pg/mL) and occludin (216.94 (122.92–280.27) ng/mL) among the stroke subtypes (p < 0.001). Here, OCLN is linked to infarction.