The Hotline for Itch: Nppb Is a Critical First Step

In recent years, the pace of itch receptor and pathway research has accelerated. Earlier this year, Han and colleagues (JW Dermatol Feb 22, 2013) identified a subset of neurons that respond to a subset of pruritogens. Now, the work of Mishra and Hoon has identified the neurotransmitter that appears to be required for all itch sensations.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1)–expressing neurons are known to be required for all itch responses. Using a mouse model in which TRPV1-expressing neurons were depleted, these researchers identified Nppb (natriuretic polypeptide b) as a protein selectively expressed by these neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG). They found that mice lacking Nppb do not respond to any of the stan…