In animal models of stroke, spinal cord injury, and subarachnoid hemorrhage, transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (Trpm4), a non-selective monovalent cation channel, is transcriptionally upregulated in neural and vascular cells. In these contexts, Trpm4 has been shown to co-associate with sulfonylurea receptor 1 (Sur1) to form Sur1-Trpm4 channels, which play a critical role in cytotoxic edema, accidental necrotic (oncotic) cell death, blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown and formation of vasogenic edema. To date, the expression and molecular interactions of Trpm4 within human cerebral infarcts have not been systematically evaluated. In this study, we examined Trpm4 expression in postmortem specimens obtained from 15 patients within the first 31 days after onset of focal cerebral ischemia. Significant upregulation of Trpm4 protein was found in all cases, relative to controls. De novo transcriptional upregulation of Trpm4 protein was confirmed using in situ hybridization for Trpm4 mRNA. Trpm4 co-localized and co-associated with Sur1 within ischemic endothelial cells and neurons which exhibited membrane thickening and irregularities characteristic of necrotic cell death. Sur1 and Trpm4 co-expression in abnormal endothelial cells also was associated with vasogenic edema, as evidenced by upregulated perivascular TNFα, perivascular extravasation of serum immunoglobulin G and associated inflammation. Upregulated Trpm4 protein persisted up to one month post onset of cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, pharmacological channel blockade by glibenclamide, a selective inhibitor of sulfonylurea receptor, was found to mitigate perivascular TNFα labeling in a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) stroke model. We conclude that the Sur1-Trpm4 channel is upregulated and associated with BBB disruption and cerebral edema formation in human cerebral infarcts. These data suggest that pharmacological targeting of this channel may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for clinical management of ischemic stroke.