Future identification of specific S1P receptor subtypes beyond S1P1 and the involved CNS cell types, such as microglia, will assist in elucidating the precise mechanisms of FTY720 efficacy in cerebral ischemia models, which also appears to be relevant to the recurrent stroke model accessed by S1P pretreatment within the brain in view of both damage potentiation by S1P and the increased presence of recurrent stroke markers like TNF-α. This evidence concerns the gene S1PR1 and brain ischemia.