Since embolic or thrombotic transient or permanent occlusion of a cerebral blood vessel eventually leads to brain infarction in most stroke cases, we evaluated the contribution of Sxc– to cerebral ischemic damage by comparing brain infarction between mice naturally null for SLC7a11 (SLC7a11sut/sut mice) – the gene the encodes for the substrate specific light chain for system xc– – with their wild type (SLC7a11 + ⁣/ +) littermates following photothrombotic ischemic stroke of the middle cerebral artery (PTI) and permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAo) rendered by cauterization. This evidence concerns the gene SLC7A11 and ischemic stroke.