EPCs mobilization before and after cerebral ischemia in lean and MS Cp old rats. (a) Images showing the gating procedure to detect triple positive EPCs for CD34, VEGFR2 and CXCR4. (b) Percentage of estimated EPCs in peripheral blood before and at different time points after cerebral ischemia in lean/Cp rats (n = 8 per experimental group and time point). (c) Percentage of estimated EPCs in BM of naïve lean/Cp rats (n = 6) and ischemic animals 3, 7 and 28d after tMCAO (n = 8). (d) SDF1-α plasma levels, expressed as percentage of basal levels and determined by ELISA, in lean/Cp animals before and after stroke (n = 6). Data are expressed as mean±SD. $p < 0.05 vs. basal; *p < 0.05 vs Cp, (a) two-way ANOVA plus Bonferroni correction; (b, c) Mann Whitney test.