Studies in animal models of neurological disease, particularly ischemic stroke, have shown that in addition to its natural antithrombotic actions, APC also triggers a number of protective actions that include attenuation of neuroinflammation and promotion of vascular integrity, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and neuroprotection (Joyce et al., 2001; Cheng et al., 2003; Guo et al., 2004; Fernandez et al., 2005; Mosnier and Griffin, 2007; Thiyagarajan et al., 2008; Petraglia et al., 2010; Guo et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2013a, b). This evidence concerns the gene APC and ischemic stroke.