To understand the mechanism by which UCP2 modulates mitochondrial fission/fusion balance, we detected mitochondrial fission and fusion-associated proteins in cortical samples collected from animals subjected to 60 min of ischemia and followed by 6h, 24h and 72h of reperfusion by immunohistochemistry and Western blot (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). This evidence concerns the gene UCP2 and ischemia.