Diagram of the experimental design. The mice underwent MCAO surgery at day 0 and received a stereotactic injection of AAV-CXCL12 or AAV-GFP (as control). AMD3100 was injected intraperitoneally from 2 weeks of ischemia. The mice were sacrificed at 3 and 5 weeks after ischemia. Abbreviations: AAV, adeno-associated virus; CXCL12, C-X-C chemokine ligand 12; d, day; GFP, green fluorescent protein; pMCAO, permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion; w, week.