IL6 and Stroke: To further investigate the putative anti-inflammatory properties of iNO following stroke, we measured the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in brain tissue and IL-6 and TNF-α in peripheral blood 5 h after reperfusion.