HGF and brain ischemia: Besides its beneficial effect on axon outgrowth, neuronal survival, synaptic function and plasticity (Ebens et al., 1996; Nakamura and Mizuno, 2010; Wright and Harding, 2015), HGF has been reported to attenuate cerebral ischemia-induced blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and loss of tight junction protein expression, both of which are features of small blood vessels of the brain (Date et al., 2006).