SummaryInterleukin‐17 (IL‐17) is a cytokine family that includes 6 members, IL‐17A through IL‐17F, most of them are reported to have pro‐inflammatory role. Through binding to their receptors (IL‐17Rs), IL‐17 activates the intracellular signalling pathways to play an important role in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Ischaemic stroke is a complex pathophysiological process mainly caused by regional cerebral ischaemia. Inflammatory factors contribute to the physiological process of stroke that leads to poor prognosis. IL‐17 plays a crucial role in promoting inflammatory response and inducing secondary injury in post‐stroke. Though immune cells and inflammatory factors have been reported to be involved in the damage of stroke, the functions of IL‐17 in this process need to be elucidated. This review focuses on the pathological modulation and the mechanism of IL‐17 family in ischaemic stroke and seeking to provide new insights for future therapies.

Ischemic stroke (IS) has complex pathological mechanisms, and is extremely difficult to treat. At present, the treatment of IS is mainly based on intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy, but they are limited by a strict time window. In addition, after intravenous thrombolysis or mechanical thrombectomy, damaged neurons often fail to make ideal improvements due to microcirculation disorders. Therefore, finding suitable pathways and targets from the pathological mechanism is crucial for the development of neuroprotective agents against IS. With the hope of making contributions to the development of IS treatments, this review will introduce (1) how related targets are found in pathological mechanisms such as inflammation, excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and complement system activation; and (2) the current status and challenges in drug development.

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