In these articles, the pretreatment using a TLR7 or TLR9 agonist reveals significant neuroprotection after cerebral ischemia by activating interferon regulatory factor 3/7- (IRF3/7)-induced type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway (Stevens et al., 2011; Leung et al., 2012). This evidence concerns the gene IRF3 and brain ischemia.