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Scripps Research scientists identify sensor underlying mechanical itch
https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2022/20220622-patapoutian-mechanical-itch.htmlScripps Research scientists identify sensor underlying mechanical itch
Finding could lead to better drug treatments for chronic itch conditions, like eczema
June 22, 2022
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at Scripps Research have identified a protein in sensory nerves that works as a key detector of itch—specifically the “mechanical” itch stimulus of crawling insects, wool fibers, or other irritating objects that touch the skin.
The discovery, published June 22, 2022, in Nature, is the first identification of a sensor for mechanical itch rather than chemically-triggered itch. It could lead to better treatments for itch conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
“These findings help us untangle the complexity of itch sensation, and suggest that PIEZO1 inhibitors could be very useful clinically,” says study senior author Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Itch is a distinct sensation with its own nerve circuitry and evolutionary purpose—likely to alert organisms to potentially harmful chemicals, insects and parasites. Researchers over the past decade or so have identified itch-specific subsets of spinal neurons that extend nerve fibers into the skin and are sensitive to chemical triggers of itch such as the allergy mediator histamine. But so far, relatively little has been discovered about the circuitry of mechanical itch.
[...]
Finding could lead to better drug treatments for chronic itch conditions, like eczema
June 22, 2022
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at Scripps Research have identified a protein in sensory nerves that works as a key detector of itch—specifically the “mechanical” itch stimulus of crawling insects, wool fibers, or other irritating objects that touch the skin.
The discovery, published June 22, 2022, in Nature, is the first identification of a sensor for mechanical itch rather than chemically-triggered itch. It could lead to better treatments for itch conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
“These findings help us untangle the complexity of itch sensation, and suggest that PIEZO1 inhibitors could be very useful clinically,” says study senior author Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Itch is a distinct sensation with its own nerve circuitry and evolutionary purpose—likely to alert organisms to potentially harmful chemicals, insects and parasites. Researchers over the past decade or so have identified itch-specific subsets of spinal neurons that extend nerve fibers into the skin and are sensitive to chemical triggers of itch such as the allergy mediator histamine. But so far, relatively little has been discovered about the circuitry of mechanical itch.
[...]