Duke researchers are shedding light on the role skin cells play in influencing the body’s response to external stimuli, opening up possibilities for new drugs to treat acute and chronic itches.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, found that skin cells not only function as a protective layer but also actively participate in the sensory perception process. A protein called TRPV4 in cells of the skin’s outer layers helps pass along external stimuli—such as sensations of itching or pain—to nerve cells and to the brain.
“The study was conducted in the context of a wider interest of my lab, which is to understand how sensory transduction works in the context of nerve cells being obvious players in the process, and how nerve cells are stimulated that leads to the sensory perception,” said Dr. Wolfgang Liedtke, one of the study’s authors and professor of neurology and anesthesiology.
Liedtke explained that the TRPV4 protein has been the focus of his work for more than a decade, but for the most recent study, he realized that itching was potentially tied to TRPV4.
“I discovered the TRPV4 myself about 15 or 16 years ago, and I have stuck with this molecule,” Liedtke said. “Also, my evidence led me to believe that the TRPV4 ion channel does play a role in itch.”
Liedtke first conducted his research on genetically-engineered mice to test his hypotheses before working with human skin cells.
“I generated two types of mice based on the TRPV4 gene—one that has no TRPV4 gene at all in any cell of the organism and the other with TRPV4 only in the skin,” he said. “We found in the second type of mice that itching depends on TRPV4 ion channels.”
The results of the study have profound implications in medicine and may help to pave the way for specific drugs in the form of lotions that treat itching from allergic reactions or mosquito bites, Liedtke explained.
He added that researchers are trying to transition from studying acute temporary itching to studying chronic itching, which has become a significant health problem in recent years.
“So far, we have mainly focused on acute and rapid forms of itch, but many human diseases related to itch are chronic,” Liedtke said. “So we need to start studying the chronic itch, which is more time-consuming and delicate.”
Future research will focus on how skin cells communicate with nerve cells and the type of biochemical signals that skin cells release when doing so, he said.
“I also noticed that people respond differently to itching,” Liedtke said. “Therefore, it would also be interesting to examine why some people are more sensitive to itching than others.”
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