Microglia respond to and induce anxiety and grooming in mice using calcium signaling

Disruption of the mouse Hoxb8 gene causes chronic anxiety and pathological over-grooming resulting from defective Hoxb8 microglia. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of Hoxb8 microglia in specific regions of the brain induces elevated anxiety and/or grooming. Herein we show that the molecular signals for inducing anxiety and/or grooming in response to optogenetic activation are calcium ions. Conversely, induction of grooming and anxiety in mice produces calcium transients within microglia. Unexpectedly, calcium transients are not produced in Hoxb8 mutant mice in response to the induction of these behaviors. The likely cause for this lack of response by Hoxb8 mutant mice to induced grooming is the presence of high constitutive levels of free calcium within Hoxb8 mutant microglia resulting from the gene disruption. These calcium ions, in turn, serve as relentless signals to increase anxiety and grooming leading to chronic anxiety and pathological overgrooming in Hoxb8 mutant mice. Thus, we have shown that calcium signaling is used by microglia: 1) to induce anxiety and/or grooming by optogenetic stimulation of Hoxb8 microglia in WT mice, 2) to respond by microglia to the induction of both behaviors in WT mice and 3) as the causative agent for producing chronic anxiety and pathological overgrooming in Hoxb8 mutant mice.