TNF and Stroke: Upon stroke, both interleukin-1β (IL-1β)28 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),29 are induced early30 in microglia and infiltrating macrophages contributing to neurodegeneration.31–33 To assess whether these events are also related to apo-sGC, we first assessed microglia activation and infiltrating macrophages in stroked animals with and without treatment with the apo-sGC activator BAY 60-2770 (10 μg/kg).