MANF and ischemic stroke: Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) has been originally described as a neurotrophic factor (Petrova et al., 2003) but has subsequently been found to be an important regulator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen homeostasis (Lindahl et al., 2014) and to have a protective effect on ischemic stroke outcome (Airavaara et al., 2009).