CDK5 and Cerebral ischemia: Importantly, patients suffering from cerebral ischemia display strong up-regulation of CDK5, p35, and p25 in peri-infarct blood vessels; additionally, human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) subjected to glucose deprivation display hyperactivation of CDK5, suggesting a crucial role of CDK5 in the microvasculature in response to cerebral ischemia (Slevin and Krupinski, 2009).