Given that multiple Hx brain disorders, including stroke, are associated with neurodegenerative disease (Willis and Hakim, 2013) and aberrant inflammatory microglial activities (Gülke et al., 2018), the results presented here provide evidence for a novel mechanism whereby microglia can be altered long-term by hypoxic brain injury, potentially making the brain more susceptible to a subsequent or ongoing injury or disease. Here, HPX is linked to neurodegenerative disease.