These data suggested that increased serum levels of HMGB1 are probably attributable to spill-over from necrotic neural cells during cerebral ischemia and that GL may have a protective effect against MCAO/reperfusion-mediated cell death in neural cells, thereby decreasing the amount of HMGB1 released from the cerebral cortex into the serum. The gene discussed is HMGB1; the disease is Cerebral ischemia.