Fig. 1.

The neuroprotective effects of Apelin 13. a Apelin 13 was given intracerebroventricularly 15 min before reperfusion and followed by once daily for 3 days after stroke. TTC staining was performed to evaluate the infarct formation after stroke. b Neurological scores in the rats after stroke. c Apelin 13 reduced cerebral edema. The water content of ipsilateral hemispheres was measured to evaluate the degree of cerebral edema. d Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase 3, and cleaved caspase 9 were detected by western blot as mentioned in the “Methods” section. Levels of S-100β (e) and NSE (f) in serum were detected by relative kits. ^##P < 0.01 vs. the sham group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs. the model group