Somatic motor neuron sub-populations are differentially vulnerable to degeneration. A recent study utilized an anti-soluble Guanylate Cyclase 1 alpha 3 (GUCY1A3) antibody to revealed that guanylate cyclase 1A3 expression varies between cells with different susceptibilities.

The regulation of various genes involved for example in mitochondrial function and apoptosis was also altered. The study's results indicate that global gene expression profiling may be useful in determining the susceptibility of neurons to degeneration due to disease.