Rapamycin promotes repair of neurovascular units after ischemic stroke

Neurovascular unit （NVU） is composed of neurons， endothelial cells， pericytes， astrocytes， macrophages/microglia， smooth muscle cells， extracellular matrix， etc， and plays vital roles in maintenance of the normal brain tissue function and cellular homeostasis. Cerebral ischemia caused by stroke can harm various components of NVU. Repairing damaged NVU and maintaining its structural and functional integrity are an effective way to improve stroke treatment. Resent research has found that rapamycin not only enhances autophagy of neurons but also effectively repairs the injuried components of NVU ， thereby reducing neural damage after stroke. In this paper， the mechanisms of rapamycin underlying the repair of injured NVU after ischemic stroke is reviewed to provide guidance for its application in the treatment of stroke.