The transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α plays crucial roles in regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and ROS scavenging, and could be a therapeutically relevant target in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease (Anderson and Prolla, 2009; Handschin, 2009; Zheng et al., 2010). The gene discussed is PPARGC1A; the disease is neurodegenerative disease.