BNIP3 and brain ischemia: Moreover, hypoxia-mediated HIF1α signaling is involved in the amyloidogenic processing of the amyloid precursor protein, and subsequent downstream events influence the activation of the pro-death gene BNIP3, thus leading to an increased incidence of AD and neurodegeneration after cerebral ischemia and stroke (Zhang et al., 2007; Ogunshola and Antoniou, 2009).