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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Intravital Two-Photon Imaging of Touch Sensory Axon Morphology in Mouse Skin

Intravital Two-Photon Imaging of Touch Sensory Axon Morphology in Mouse Skin

Published on: December 30, 2025

Merkel cells are essential for light-touch responses.

Stephen M Maricich¹, Scott A Wellnitz, Aislyn M Nelson

¹Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|June 23, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Merkel cells are essential for detecting light touch. Removing these cells in mice eliminated normal touch receptor responses, confirming their crucial role in the somatosensory system.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Somatic sensory system research
Cell biology

Background:

The peripheral nervous system processes somatosensory information like touch.
Merkel cell-neurite complexes are known touch receptors, but Merkel cell function remains debated.
Understanding Merkel cell contribution to touch sensation is crucial for neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the necessity of Merkel cells in light-touch responses.
To determine the precise role of Merkel cells within the somatosensory system.

Main Methods:

Utilized Cre-loxP technology for conditional deletion of the Atoh1 gene in mouse skin.
Generated Atoh1(CKO) mice lacking Merkel cells in specific skin regions.
Performed ex vivo skin/nerve preparations to analyze neurophysiological responses.

Main Results:

Atoh1(CKO) mice showed a complete absence of Merkel cells in targeted areas.
Neurophysiological recordings from Atoh1(CKO) preparations revealed a loss of Merkel cell-neurite complex responses.
This demonstrates that Merkel cells are indispensable for encoding touch stimuli.

Conclusions:

Merkel cells are required for the proper functioning of Merkel receptor responses.
These findings confirm Merkel cells as an essential component of the mammalian somatosensory system.
The study resolves a long-standing debate regarding Merkel cell function in touch perception.