DDIT4 and neurodegenerative disease: Other examples are Timp3, an inhibitor of the matrix metalloproteinases involved in degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) which play a role in neurodegenerative diseases (Rosenberg, 2009), as well as DNA damage inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) which is induced by cellular stress, including ER stress, and one that regulates the mTOR activity.