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Molecular Mechanisms of the Sense of Touch: An Overview of Mechanical Transduction and Transmission in Merkel Discs of Whisker Hair Follicles and Some Clinical Perspectives

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Advances in Pain Research: Mechanisms and Modulation of Chronic Pain

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1099))

Abstract

The Merkel disc is a main type of tactile end organs for sensing gentle touch and is essential for sophisticated sensory tasks including social interaction, environmental exploration, and tactile discrimination. Recent studies have shown that Merkel cells are primary sites of mechanotransduction using Piezo2 channels as a molecular transducer in Merkel discs. Furthermore, tactile stimuli trigger serotonin release from Merkel cells to excite their associated whisker Aβ-afferent endings and transmit tactile signals. The tactile transduction and transmission at Merkel discs may have important clinical implications in sensory dysfunctions such as the loss of tactile sensitivity and tactile allodynia seen in patients who have diabetes and inflammatory diseases and undergo chemotherapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Jianguo G. Gu

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Correspondence to Jianguo G. Gu .

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  1. Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Bai-Chuang Shyu

  2. Division of Cell Signaling, Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience (National Institute for Physiological Sciences), Okazaki, Aichi, Japan

    Makoto Tominaga

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Gu, J.G. (2018). Molecular Mechanisms of the Sense of Touch: An Overview of Mechanical Transduction and Transmission in Merkel Discs of Whisker Hair Follicles and Some Clinical Perspectives. In: Shyu, BC., Tominaga, M. (eds) Advances in Pain Research: Mechanisms and Modulation of Chronic Pain. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1099. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1756-9_1

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