Brain damage after stroke

In response to brain ischemia a cascade of signals leads to the activation of the brain innate immune system and to the recruitment of blood borne derived cells to the ischemic tissue. These processes have been increasingly shown to play a role on stroke pathogenesis. Here, we discuss the key features of resident microglia and different leukocyte subsets implicated in cerebral ischemia with special emphasis of neutrophils, monocytes and microglia. We focus on how leukocytes are recruited to injured brain through a complex interplay between endothelial cells, platelets and leukocytes and describe different strategies used to inhibit their recruitment...