Touch-evoked itch pinned on Piezo1 ion-channel protein

Follansbee, Taylor; Dong, Xinzhong

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-01571-9

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22 June 2022

Touch-evoked itch pinned on Piezo1 ion-channel protein

The sensation of touch-evoked itch is common in people who have chronic itch conditions. Evidence in mice now suggests that the mechanoreceptor protein Piezo1 underlies this sensation.

Taylor Follansbee ⁰ &
Xinzhong Dong ¹

Taylor Follansbee
1. Taylor Follansbee is in the Department of Neuroscience and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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Xinzhong Dong
1. Xinzhong Dong is in the Department of Neuroscience and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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Just the thought of wearing a woollen sweater next to your skin can bring itchy sensations to mind. But how does a mechanical stimulus, such as the touch of wool fibre, cause itch? Writing in Nature, Hill et al.¹ provide an exciting step forward in our understanding of the sensation of itch evoked by touch, known as mechanical itch. PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 are ion-channel proteins that open in response to mechanical stimuli. PIEZO2 has well-characterized roles in mechanosensation, mechanical pain and sensing of movement in both mice and humans². The authors now show in mice that Piezo1 is indispensable for mechanical itch and some forms of itch sensitization.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01571-9

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