672 G>A, g.1580 G>A and g.1617 G>A) were located in intron 2. Two deletion mutations were presented in 10 Chinese sheep breeds. Moreover, only two sheep have kinase inhibitor Imatinib the D5D5 genotype, one in Minxian Black-fur sheep and one in Duolang sheep, and no homozygosis D9D9 was found in all sheep that we detected. The genotype results suggested that these mutations are not associated or not completely associated with coat color in the investigated sheep breeds. The above results indicated that the variation in the protein coding region of ASIP did not explain the coat colour phenotypes variation of Chinese indigenous sheep breeds. These investigated results are also proved evidence that the black coat color phenotype in Chinese sheep was caused by the MC1R gene mutations.5.

ConclusionThe present study results further confirm that the MC1R gene is an important candidate gene because its mutations are associated with black color phenotype in Chinese indigenous sheep breed. In addition, we can rule out the mutations of MC1R determining the brown coat color phenotype.Authors’ ContributionGuang-Li Yang and Dong-Li Fu contributed equally to this work and should be considered as cofirst authors.AcknowledgmentsThis study was supported by He’nan Research Program of Foundation and Advanced Technology of China (102300410143, 132300410398) and Foundation of He’nan Educational Committee of China (12B230011).
Stroke has a high morbidity, high mortality, high disability, and high recurrence rate and has been a major cause of disability and death worldwide [1].

In China, there are 1500000 to 2000000 new stroke cases every year and 70% of these are ischemic stroke (IS) cases [2]. It is well known that atherosclerosis, small vessel disease, and arrhythmia are common causes of IS [3], and hypertension, diabetes, and smoking have been found to be risk factors of IS [4]. Increasing evidence shows that IS is caused by multiple factors and as a result of interaction between genetic and environmental factors. It has been confirmed that mutations of MTHFR gene [5], ApoE gene [6], PDE4D gene [7], and ALOX5AP [8] are related to the pathogenesis of IS.NO is an important messenger molecule and effector molecule. In organisms, NO may serve as a messenger, mediator, or cellular modulator and possesses extensive biological activities [9]. The biosynthesis of NO is regulated by nitric oxide synthase (NOS).

According to the biological characteristics and encoding genes, NOS can be classified into neural NOS (nNOS, NOS1), inducible NOS (iNOS, NOS2), and endothelial (NOS, NOS3). eNOS is mainly expressed in the endothelial cells. Under the physiological condition, eNOS derived NO is Batimastat required for maintenance of circulation system. It can dilate blood vessels, inhibit platelet aggregation, and suppress proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells exerting antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory effects.