MERTK and ischemic stroke: Increasing evidence show that microglial phagocytosis plays a canonical role in neurological recovery after brain injury.13, 14, 15, 35 Several pathways are involved in microglial phagocytosis after brain injury, including CD36, MerTK, MFG‐E8, TL4, and TREM2.13, 14, 15, 36 It is thought that microglial phagocytosis plays a positive role in debris clearance and reconstruction of neuronal networks in brain pathologies such as MS, ALS, trauma.37, 38, 39 Ischemic stroke causes massive cells death in the brain, and microglial phagocytosis is involved in the clearance of dead cell and debris.