SOCS3 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Similar to what found in the cervical spinal cord (Figure 4), SOCS3 levels were found to be significantly upregulated at the pre-symptomatic stage (9 weeks of age, Figure 5D,F,M,O) and became exacerbated at the early symptomatic stage (16 weeks of age, Figure 5J,L,N,O) of ALS mice in the lumbar spinal cord, particularly in the large NeuN+ neurons found in the ventral horn where motor neurons are mainly located (arrows in Figure 5F,L–N).