PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Liu, Qin
AU  - Sikand, Parul
AU  - Ma, Chao
AU  - Tang, Zongxiang
AU  - Han, Liang
AU  - Li, Zhe
AU  - Sun, Shuohao
AU  - LaMotte, Robert H.
AU  - Dong, Xinzhong
TI  - Mechanisms of Itch Evoked by β-Alanine
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3509-12.2012
DP  - 2012 Oct 17
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 14532--14537
VI  - 32
IP  - 42
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/42/14532.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/32/42/14532.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2012 Oct 17; 32
AB  - β-alanine, a popular supplement for muscle building, induces itch and tingling after consumption, but the underlying molecular and neural mechanisms are obscure. Here we show that, in mice, β-alanine elicited itch-associated behavior that requires MrgprD, a G-protein-coupled receptor expressed by a subpopulation of primary sensory neurons. These neurons exclusively innervate the skin, respond to β-alanine, heat, and mechanical noxious stimuli but do not respond to histamine. In humans, intradermally injected β-alanine induced itch but neither wheal nor flare, suggesting that the itch was not mediated by histamine. Thus, the primary sensory neurons responsive to β-alanine are likely part of a histamine-independent itch neural circuit and a target for treating clinical itch that is unrelieved by anti-histamines.