L-Cysteine administration alleviated HI-induced brain injury. (A) Representative brain photos of mice were taken 3days after HI insult. The black arrows indicate the significant change of morphology in the ipsilateral hemisphere. (B) Brain water content was measured at 3 days after HI insult, n = 6 in each group. (C) Representative TTC-stained brain sections from each group. (D) Analysis of infarct volume from result C, n = 6 in each group. Values represent the mean ± SD, ***p < 0.001 HI VS Sham; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01, ###p < 0.001 HI + L-Cysteine (L-Cys) VS HI; &&p < 0.01, &&&p < 0.001 HI + L-Cys+AOAA VS HI + L-Cys.