Glial Cells Effect Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (in Mice Anyway)

Injection of wild type glial brain support cells into mutant OCD grooming mice helps abate the mice’ OCD some.

Cell, Volume 141, Issue 5, 775-785, 28 May 2010

Hematopoietic Origin of Pathological Grooming in Hoxb8 Mutant Mice
Shau-Kwaun Chen1, Petr Tvrdik1, Erik Peden1, Scott Cho2, Sen Wu1, Gerald Spangrude2 and Mario R. Capecchi

Hox genes is best known for helping embryonic organization, neural development, and pain sensitivity.

• microglia are immune infection fighting cells found in neural tissue. Some originate in the brain, some start in bone marrow and move out from there.
• Mice deficient in Hoxb8 excessively groom
• This excessive grooming is cut back by bone marrow injections from wild type mice (not a cure though).
• Injecting bone marrow glial cells from Hoxb8 deficient to wild type, starts up OCD grooming

Comment – It appears the immune system impacts OCD and one would wonder about other neuropsychological  conditions. This has exciting posibilities and opens up an entirely new avenue of treatments. I have discussed the link between microglia and chronic pain before here:

Microglia Key to Neuropathic Pain

One of the letters commented on the microglial link with  asperger’s syndrome (social incompetence) and schizophrenia.