Glutamate release and uptake processes are altered in a new mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

In this paper, we showed that in the cortex of mice expressing an abberant form of FUS protein that model amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the processes of KCl-induced and basal [(3)H]glutamate release and uptake are altered at the presymptomatic stage as compared to the non-transgenic littermates. The change in these three parameters in transgenic animals causes excitotoxicity, which, in turn, may lead to massive loss of motor neurons and the onset of ALS symptoms.