Figure 1.

Model depicting the cellular and molecular components responsible for the peripheral detection of itch stimuli.

The skin is a complex micro-environment containing multiple cell-types that collaborate to detect and either directly or indirectly stimulate pruciceptive neurons. Skin and immune cells as well as agents released from invading organisms activate sensors in the itch-responsive nerve fibers in the skin. Through different signaling cascades G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and cytokine receptors cause the cells in which they are expressed to be depolarized.