The immune response to acute cerebral ischemia is a major factor in stroke pathobiology
and outcome. While the immune response starts locally in occluded and hypoperfused
vessels and the ischemic brain parenchyma, inflammatory mediators generated in situ
propagate through the organism as a whole. This “spillover” leads to a systemic
inflammatory response first, followed by immunosuppression aimed at dampening the
potentially harmful proinflammatory milieu. In this overview we will outline the inflammatory …