Similar to the increases in SOCS3 levels, the Iba1+ microglia/macrophages were significantly increased by 2.7 times at the pre-symptomatic stage (9 weeks of age) (Figure 6E,F,P), and further increased by 7.3 times at the early symptomatic stage (16 weeks of age) (Figure 6K,L,P) in the lumbar spinal cord of ALS mice, as compared to age-matched WT mice (Figure 6B,H,P). This evidence concerns the gene AIF1 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.