MAZ51 blocks post-stroke cpLV vessel expansion and reduces brain infarct size. (A) Experimental design for administering i.p. injection of DMSO or MAZ51 (VEGFR-3 inhibitor) after reperfusion of tMCAO (day 0). MRI and tissue collection were acquired on day 7 after tMCAO (created using https://BioRender.com). (B and C) Coronal sections of CP areas were stained with Lyve-1 fluorescent antibody after either control or MAZ51 treatment in sham or tMCAO mice. Representative confocal images of lymphatic vessels near the CP. Scale bars = 100 µm for CP sections (B). Quantitation of average Lyve-1⁺ vessel area near the CP at day 7 after stroke (C) (n = 6 mice per group; mean ± SEM, *P ≤ 0.05, ****P ≤ 0.0001, one-way ANOVA). (D and E) T2-weighted MRI scan images of brain sections between tMCAO with control or MAZ51 treatment at day 7. Representative images of MRI brain scans (D). White dashed lines mark brain infarcts which are quantified into a graph (E) (n = 6 mice per group; mean ± SEM, ***P ≤ 0.001, unpaired Student’s t test). Source data are available for this figure: SourceData F5.