P2RY12 was decreased in the spinal cord of mutant SOD1 mice that mimicked amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathology, although Iba-1-positive microglia were increased, indicating that the loss of microglia homeostatic genes might be involved in microglial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases (Butovsky et al., 2015). This evidence concerns the gene SOD1 and neurodegenerative disease.