Compared with that in the sham-operated group, the protein expression of Bax and c-Jun in the model group was significantly increased, while that of Bcl-2 was markedly reduced, suggesting that cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced apoptosis was mediated by changes in the protein expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and c-Jun in the hippocampus. This evidence concerns the gene BAX and brain ischemia.