A method of treating or preventing tissue damage occurring subsequent to affecting an increase in blood flow through a blood vessel which is in communication with the tissue, by administering an effective amount of a composition including a tissue damage-reducing or -preventing polypeptide including at least one of Thymosin beta 4 (Tß4), an isoform of Tß4, an N-terminal fragment of Tß4, a C-terminal fragment of Tß4, Tß4 sulfoxide, an LKKTET peptide, an LKKTNT peptide, an actin-sequestering peptide, an actin binding peptide, an actin-mobilizing peptide, an actin polymerization-modulating peptide, or a conservative variant thereof having tissue damage-reducing activity. The composition is administered to the tissue before, during and/or after affecting the increase in blood flow.
