Confirming this role and using a transient focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion animal model, Ren et al. showed that SPATA2 expression was reduced in rat brains after I/R and that Spata2 knockdown caused an increase in microglia cells with a consequent increase in the expression of TNF, IL -1β and IL-18. The gene discussed is SPATA2; the disease is Cerebral ischemia.