%0 Journal Article %T Vascular Protection by Angiotensin Receptor Antagonism Involves Differential VEGF Expression in Both Hemispheres after Experimental Stroke %A Weihua Guan %A Payaningal R. Somanath %A Anna Kozak %A Anna Goc %A Azza B. El-Remessy %A Adviye Ergul %A Maribeth H. Johnson %A Ahmed Alhusban %A Sahar Soliman %A Susan C. Fagan %J PLOS ONE %D 2011 %I Public Library of Science (PLoS) %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0024551 %X We identified that the angiotensin receptor antagonist, candesartan, has profound neurovascular protective properties when administered after ischemic stroke and was associated with a proangiogenic state at least partly explained by vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA). However, the spatial distribution of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms and their receptors remained unknown. Protein analysis identified a significant increase in vascular endothelial grow factor B (VEGFB) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the ischemic hemispheres (with increased VEGF receptor 1 activation) of treated animals (p<0.05) which was co-occurring with an increase in protein kinase B (Akt) phosphorylation (p<0.05). An increase in VEGFA protein in the contralesional hemisphere corresponded to a significant increase in vascular density at seven days (p<0.01) after stroke onset. Vascular restoration by candesartan after stroke maybe related to differential regional upregulation of VEGFB and VEGFA, promoting a ˇ°prosurvival stateˇ± in the ischemic hemisphere and angiogenesis in the contralesional side, respectively. These vascular changes in both hemispheres after effective treatment are likely to contribute to enhanced recovery after stroke. %U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024551