On Your Nerves

Sensory neurons in our skin are the first to warn us about threats in the outside world. They relay temperature, pain and stress as electrical impulses fired towards the central nervous system, but these messages start at the fringe where skin meets nerve. To investigate further, scientists develop living models inside microfluidic devices. Green fluorescence highlights these rat nerve cells (with their DNA in blue) reaching out in three dimensions into a nurturing environment of chemicals, mimicking their natural extracellular matrix (ECM). Each column tests a different type of ECM, finding more developed growth on the right over 4 days (top to bottom). Later, the researchers grew skin cells down into the ECM to mingle with the nerve cells – similar to innervated skin. Such models could be used to test treatments for pain-related disorders, or mimic disorders like diabetic neuropathy.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Jinchul Ahn and Kyungeun Ohk, and colleagues
• School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, March 2023