Our results shed light on Hoxb8 microglia-driven circuit-specific defects and therapeutic approaches that will become essential to developing novel therapies for neuropsychiatric diseases such as OCD and ASDs with Hoxb8-microglia being the central target.
Mouse Hoxb8 mutants show unexpected behavior manifested by compulsive grooming and hair removal, similar to behavior in humans with the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum disorder trichotillomania.