At 24 h after cerebral ischemia, compared with the sham‐operated group, the model control group exhibited significantly increased AIF, P53, Cyt C, APAF‐1, and cleaved caspase‐8 mRNA expressions (p < 0.01) and a significantly decreased BCL‐XL mRNA expression (p < 0.05). Here, APAF1 is linked to brain ischemia.