NRG1 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: The first evidence for this mechanism was provided by Fischbach and colleagues, supporting a model for localized proteolytic release of neuregulin-1 from the basal lamina [164]; since then a number of proteins have been shown to promote motor neuron survival in the context of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and, like neuregulin-1 [165], to possess heparin-binding domains.