Interesting, to further assess the functional deficiency of CST3 in Cst3-KO gerbils and to determine the role of CST3 in stroke, the unilateral carotid arteries of Cst3-KO gerbils were ligated and the animals showed more severe brain damage and neurological deficits than WT controls, indicating the validation of our knockout system in gerbils and a neuroprotective role of CST3 in cerebral ischemia. This evidence concerns the gene CST3 and brain ischemia.