Disclosed herein are methods for treating, inhibiting, or reducing ischemia/reperfusion injury of a cardiac tissue increasing phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and/or eNOS in a cardiac tissue treating, inhibiting, or reducing loss of NO treating, inhibiting, or reducing uncoupling of NOS increasing recoupling of NOS treating, inhibiting, or reducing loss of DCC protein and mRNA expression in a cardiac tissue decreasing or reducing the infarct size of a heart resulting from ischemia/reperfusion injury decreasing or reducing superoxide production by a cardiac tissue caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury treating, inhibiting, or reducing neointimal formation and restenosis treating, inhibiting, or reducing apoptosis of mobilized endothelial progenitor cells or a combination thereof of a blood vessel (such as an artery, a coronary artery, a vein, or a capillary) or a portion of the blood vessel in a subject which comprise the administration of netrin-1.
