Post-stroke angiotensin II type 2 receptor activation provides long-term neuroprotection in aged rats.

Activation of the angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) by administration of Compound 21 (C21), a selective AT2R agonist, induces neuroprotection in models of ischemic stroke in young adult animals. The mechanisms of this neuroprotective action are varied, and may include direct and indirect effects of AT2R activation. Our objectives were to assess the long-term protective effects of post-stroke C21 treatments in a clinically-relevant model of stroke in aged rats and to characterize the cellular localization of AT2Rs in the mouse brain of transgenic reporter mice following stroke.