Osteopontin (SPP1) in particular has been suggested as a blood biomarker for neonatal encephalopathy (Graham et al., 2018) and it is highly induced by hypoxic injury, where a protective role is suggested by decreased oligodendrogenesis in a knockout mouse subjected to hypoxic-ischemic injury (van Velthoven et al., 2011). This evidence concerns the gene SPP1 and neonatal encephalopathy.