BAX and brain ischemia: Some studies have reported that NF-κB can promote cell apoptosis by up-regulating the expression of pro-apoptotic factors including Bax [13–16]; whereas, others report it as a survival factor for neurons in cerebral ischemia by up-regulating the Bcl-xL expression and down-regulating the Bax expression in neurons [10, 11, 17–19].