Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease
Published on: June 26, 2016
Neuregulin-4 contributes to the establishment of cutaneous sensory innervation
Laura Howard1, Sean Wyatt1, Alun M Davies1
1School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract:
Recent work has shown that neuregulin-4 (NRG4) is a physiological regulator of the growth of sympathetic axons and CNS dendrites in the developing nervous system. Here, we have investigated whether NRG4 plays a role in sensory axon growth and the establishment of cutaneous sensory innervation. Imaging early nerve fibers in the well-characterized cutaneous trigeminal territory, the brachial plexus, and thorax revealed very marked and highly significant decreases in nerve fiber length and branching density in Nrg4-/- embryos compared with Nrg4+/+ littermates. NRG4 promoted neurotrophin-independent sensory axon growth from correspondingly early trigeminal ganglion and DRG neurons in culture but not from enteroceptive nodose ganglion neurons. High levels of Nrg4 mRNA were detected in cutaneous tissues but not in sensory ganglia. Our findings suggest that NRG4 is an important target-derived factor that participates in the establishment of early cutaneous sensory innervation.
Related Concept Videos
Sensory Functions of the Skin
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Neurulation
Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
Somatosensation
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
Major Somatic Sensory Pathways

