SLC1A2 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: One of the earliest piece of evidence arguing for a causal involvement of astrocytes in ALS pathophysiology was the downregulation of the astrocytic glutamate transporter EAAT2 (a.k.a. GLT1 in rodents) in motor cortex and spinal cord of both familial and sporadic end-stage ALS patients (Rothstein et al., 1995; Figure 4 and Supplementary Table 3).