Figure 5. Epidermal Piezo1 is required for normal innocuous and noxious mechanosensation.

(A) Von Frey mechanical thresholds of wildtype and PIEZO1cKO mice; Mann-Whitney U-test. (B) Wildtype and PIEZO1cKO responses to repeated suprathreshold (3.61 mN) von Frey filament stimulation; Mann-Whitney U-test. (C) Wildtype and PIEZO1cKO responses to repeated static light touch (0.6 mN von Frey filament) stimulation; Mann-Whitney U-test. (D) Response characterization to paintbrush swiping across hindpaw; n=10–12; bars are group averages; Chi Square test. (E) Response characterization to noxious needle hindpaw stimulation; n=10–12; bars are group averages; Chi Square test. (F) Withdrawal latency to radiant heat hindpaw stimulation; Student’s (two-tailed) t test, n.s. (G) Withdrawal latency to dry ice hindpaw stimulation; Student’s (two-tailed) t test, n.s. (H) High-speed imaging mechanical sensitivity scores in response to von Frey (0.6 g, 1.4 g, 4 g), brush, and needle stimulation in wildtype and PIEZO1cKO mice; two-way ANOVA . Cumulative z-scores were calculated from paw height, paw velocity, and pain score at each stimulus. (I) Average high-speed imaging mechanical sensitivity score across all stimuli for each animal. All data are mean ± SEM unless otherwise stated. Post-hoc comparisons for all panels: **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.

Figure 5—figure supplement 1. High-speed imaging of PIEZO1cKO and wildtype mice.

(A) Percent of mice responding to a single application of von Frey (0.4 g, 1.4 g, 4.0 g), brush, or needle stimuli with a paw withdrawal; Chi square. (B) Height of paw withdrawal in response to mechanical stimulation. (C) Velocity of paw withdrawal in response to mechanical stimulation. (D) Pain score in response to mechanical stimulation. Pain score was calculated based on whether the animal exhibited paw fluttering, guarding, or jumping behaviors in response to stimulation. All data are mean ± SEM. *p<0.05.