NOS3 and Cerebral ischemia: Interestingly, in a model of cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury elicited by middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat, AT1R blockade (losartan) annulled an elevation in inducible NOS, activated PI3K/Akt signaling thereby stimulating endothelial NOS phosphorylation and activity when compared with untreated animals subjected to cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.