ABOVE: An illustration of typical Schwann cells wrapped around an axon
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A mesh-like network of cells within mice’s skin plays a previously unknown role in pain perception, researchers reported today (August 16) in Science. The scientists have called the intricate structure a “new sensory organ,” responsible for reacting to mechanical trauma such as being poked with a needle or smacked with a bat.
“Our study shows that sensitivity to pain does not occur only in the skin's nerve fibres, but also in this recently-discovered pain-sensitive organ,” says coauthor Patrik Ernfors, a molecular neurobiologist at the Karolinska Institute, in an announcement. “The major question for us now is whether these cells are actually the cause for certain kinds of chronic pain disorders,” he adds in an interview with The Guardian.
It’s been established that humans primarily sense pain through free nerve endings of specific sensory cells. Unlike other nerve ...
