title: Merkel cells and neurons keep in touch.
abstract: The Merkel cell-neurite complex is a unique vertebrate touch receptor comprising two distinct cell types in the skin. Its presence in touch-sensitive skin areas was recognized more than a century ago, but the functions of each cell type in sensory transduction have been unclear. Three recent studies demonstrate that Merkel cells are mechanosensitive cells that function in touch transduction via Piezo2. One study concludes that Merkel cells, rather than sensory neurons, are principal sites of mechanotransduction, whereas two other studies report that both Merkel cells and neurons encode mechanical inputs. Together, these studies settle a long-standing debate on whether or not Merkel cells are mechanosensory cells, and enable future investigations of how these skin cells communicate with neurons.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Seung-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: Departments of Dermatology & Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: eal2166@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Ellen A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lumpkin
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: ardem@scripps.edu.
authors.forename: Ardem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patapoutian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D018862:Merkel Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin; D014110:Touch
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; C000589132:PIEZO2 protein, human; C552921:Piezo2 protein, mouse
keywords: Piezo; mechanoreceptor; mechanosensory cells; somatosensory; touch dome