OCLN and Stroke: Previous studies have shown that TJ-related proteins are elevated in the peri-infarct region after stroke and correlate directly with improved angiogenesis.25 We thus also assessed occludin and ZO-1 (zonula occludens-1) levels in the cortex of C57BL/6S α-Syn null and C57BL/6J mice 7 days after tMCAo by using western blot.