As a remodeling factor from microglia, numerous studies suggest TGF-β1 which is associated with the TGF-β/Smad2/3 signaling pathway may exert a protective effect on angiogenesis, axonal outgrowth, anti-apoptosis, and immunomodulation in ischemic stroke [19, 48–52]. Here, SMAD2 is linked to ischemic stroke.