2VO, two-vessel occlusion; 4VO, four-vessel occlusion; AMPA, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid; AQP4, aquaporin-4; BBB, blood–brain barrier; BCAS, bilateral common carotid artery stenosis; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; DCE-MRI, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging; DMN, default mode network; EVs, extracellular vesicles; fMRI, functional MRI; GDNF, glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor; GFAP, glial fibrillary acidic protein; GWAS, genome-wide association studies; I/R, ischemia-reperfusion; Ig, immunoglobulin; IL, Interleukin; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; iPSC, induced pluripotent stem cell; iVECs, vascular endothelial cells; MMPs, matrix metalloproteinases; MSC, Mesenchymal stem cell; NADPH, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen; NfL, neurofilament light chain; NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartate; NPCs, neural precursor cells; NVU, neurovascular unit; OPC, oligodendrocyte precursor cell; PSD, post-stroke dementia; ROS, reactive oxygen species; rTMS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; S1PR, sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor; SVD, small vessel disease; tMCAO, transient middle cerebral artery occlusion; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; Treg, regulatory T cell; TSPs, thrombospondins; VaD, vascular dementia; VCI, vascular cognitive impairment; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.

All data reported in this paper will also be shared by the lead contact upon request.

JHA and M-HW designed the research study. JHA, MCS, DWK, K-YY, and M-HW wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the study’s design, manuscript preparation, and revision. All authors contributed to editorial changes in the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors have participated sufficiently in the work and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Not applicable.

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This research received no external funding.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Moo-Ho Won is serving as one of the Editorial Board members of this journal. We declare that Moo-Ho Won had no involvement in the peer review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to Bettina Platt.

During the preparation of this work the authors used ChatGPT-3.5 in order to check spell and grammar. After using this tool, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the content of the publication.