Fig. 2

Increased expression of three cell adhesion molecules and KLF4 following focal cerebral ischemia. a Images show IF staining for three cell adhesion molecules (E-selectin, VCAM-1, and ICAM-1) and KLF4 in ischemic hemisphere from sham-operated mice (S, control) or mice at day 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14 post-ischemia. Scale bar = 100 μm. b Quantification of E-selectin, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, and KLF4 expressions. Results are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation of the number of positive events per field of view (n = 6 per experimental group). Note that cerebral ischemia induced a strong increase in the expression of all the three cell adhesion molecules in both ischemic penumbra and core, reaching a peak at day 2 and then declining at day 4. While in the ischemic penumbra, the number of KLF4-positive events increased slightly during the first 2 days post-ischemia, but then increased significantly by day 4, and reached a maximum between 7 and 14 days post-ischemia. However, in the ischemic core, the number of KLF4-positive events increased markedly during the first 2 days post-ischemia, before declining at day 4. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 compared with control