New research led by Dr. Hsiao-Huei Chen reveals that a protein called IRF2BP2 plays an important role in controlling anxiety in mice by influencing microglia, known as the immune system of the brain. IRF2BP2 calms down the microglia and promotes healing over inflammation.

Dr. Chen and her colleagues created mice that lacked IRF2BP2 in their microglia and measured their anxiety in different situations. They found that while extra maternal care reduced anxiety in normal mice, it had no effect on the mutant mice. They also found this effect was related to the level of inflammation in the brain, and to an inflammatory mediator called prostaglandin D2.

“Increased maternal care in the early period after birth modifies microglia, reduces brain inflammation and lessens anxiety in response to bullying later in life,” said Dr. Chen, a senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa. “If our findings are confirmed in humans, this could lead to new treatments for anxiety disorders, which affect more than 10 per cent of Canadians.”

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.