OGD, which is a common method to construct in vitro models for ischemia research, leads to forms of injury including neuronal necrosis and apoptosis (Pei and Cheung, 2003; Chung et al., 2007), whereas GDNF exerts a protective effect on neurons, stimulating viability, proliferation and survival (Saavedra et al., 2006; Han et al., 2015). This evidence concerns the gene GDNF and ischemia.