Ischemic stroke triggers a strong neuroinflammatory response, with microglial activation and neutrophil infiltration contributing to blood-brain barrier disruption and worsening neuronal damage.

While simultaneous targeting of PD-1 and TGF-β has been previously suggested to be a favorable strategy to reverse immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) resistance of tumors, the hydrophobicity of TGF-β inhibitors and latent drug-related adverse events of this treatment hindered its utility.