BDNF and ischemic stroke: In numerous ischemic stroke models, studies showed that expressions of neurotrophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), VEGF, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), were significantly increased in the MSC-treated animals compared with the non-treated animals in the infarcted borderline region.