MCAM and brain ischemia: Since the interplay between neurons, endothelial cells, and glial cells plays a crucial role in the early development of the neurovascular unit, and thus, the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia [4], we investigated the mRNA profile of Itgal-003 in both CD146 (LSEC)-positive endothelial cells and CD11b-positive brain macrophages isolated from F1 embryos (E18.5).