Gene expression profiles of ischemic stroke clots retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy are associated with disease etiology.

Background: Determining stroke etiology is crucial for secondary prevention, but intensive workups fail to classify ~30% of strokes that are cryptogenic.

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that the transcriptomic profiles of clots retrieved during mechanical thrombectomy are unique to strokes of different subtypes.

Methods: We isolated RNA from the clots of 73 patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy.

Isolation of RNA from Acute Ischemic Stroke Clots Retrieved by Mechanical Thrombectomy.

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel acute ischemic stroke (AIS) has enabled biologic analyses of resected clots. While clot histology has been well-studied, little is known about gene expression within the tissue, which could shed light on stroke pathophysiology. In this methodological study, we develop a pipeline for obtaining useful RNA from AIS clots.