EPO and Cerebral ischemia: Additionally, HLJDD can activate the PI3K/Akt pathway and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) in animals with cerebral ischemia [113, 114], a transcription factor mediating ischemic tolerance through increasing glucose uptake and glycolysis and activate vasculogenesis genes such as erythropoietin (EPO) and VEGF [115].