Increasing evidence suggests that peripheral inflammatory responses to stroke and other brain injuries have an important role in determining neurological outcome. The mediators of this response and the temporal relationships between peripheral and central inflammatory alterations are poorly understood. In this study, we show that experimental stroke in mice induces a peripheral inflammatory response that peaks 4 h after stroke, and precedes the peak in brain inflammation 24 h after stroke. This peripheral response is dominated by the induction of the chemokine CXCL-1 and the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 and could serve as an accessible target for therapy and as a source of biomarkers predictive of prognosis.Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism advance online publication, 5 August 2009; doi:10.1038/jcbfm.2009.113.