Fig. 1

Ephb2 null mice suffering from acute stroke show reduced brain tissue injury and functional disabilities. a WT and Ephb2^−/− mice (n = 4/group) were subjected to 60 min MCAO followed by 6 h or 24 h of reperfusion. Immunofluorescent staining was used to determine the spatial distribution of ephrin-B1, ephrin-B2, EphB2 and EphB4 proteins in coronal brain sections. Representative immunofluorescent staining images: ephrin-B/EphB (green) and nuclei (blue). The infarct area according to cresyl violet staining is bordered by a broken white line. Scale bar = 5 mm. b WT mice were subjected to 60 min MCAO followed by 6 h of reperfusion. Proteins were isolated from contra-(non-ischemic) and ipsi-(ischemic) lateral brain hemispheres and applied to proteome profiler membranes for detection of phosphorylation levels of Eph receptors (mean ± SD; n = 6; Welch’s t-test). (c) WT and Ephb2^−/− mice underwent 60 min MCAO followed by 12 h of reperfusion. Brain sections were stained with Fluoro-Jade C (FJC), and FJC-positive neurons were counted in the ipsilesional cortex (mean ± SD; n = 6; Student’s t-test). d-f WT and Ephb2^−/− mice were subjected to 60 min MCAO followed by 12, 24 or 48 h of reperfusion as indicated. d Brain sections were stained with cresyl violet, and infarct and edema sizes were analyzed using ImageJ. Infarct volume is edema-corrected (single values (scatter blots) and mean ± SD; n = 6/6, 15/15, 24/22; Student’s t-test). e Neurological function was assessed using the Bederson neurological deficit score (single values and median; n = 8/11, 17/15, 17/11; Mann-Whitney U rank-sum test). f Motor coordination of mice subjected to 60 min MCAO followed by 24 h of reperfusion was analyzed by using the Rotarod performance test (single values and mean ± SD; n = 5/4; Two-way ANOVA with Holm-Sidak’s multiple comparisons test). * p < 0.05