GDNF and ischemic stroke: In recent studies using mini-pig models of ischemic stroke [35,36] and spinal cord injury [37], we demonstrated the beneficial effects of intravenously infused autologous leucoconcentrate simultaneously transduced with chimeric adenoviral vectors (Ad5/35F) carrying cDNA encoding human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF165), human glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and human neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) on both the morphological and functional recovery of the brain and spinal cord.