P2RX7 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: In ALS mouse model (SOD1-G93A), the lack of P2X7 leads to an increased severity of the disease (diminished motor performance and amplified motoneuron loss) accompanied by an increased astrogliosis and microglial reaction with upregulation of the cytotoxic mediators NOX2 and iNOS (Apolloni et al., 2013a).