GDF15 and ischemic stroke: Further, macrophages in the post-ischemic stroke brain display unique transcriptome characteristics, robustly favoring neurovascular plasticity 5 days after ischemic stroke, suggesting that macrophages in the brain upregulate genes related with neovascularization, such as oncostatin M (Osm) (143), osteopontin (Spp1) (144), growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) (145), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (146), and fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) (147).