Why sunburn stings

摘要

A membrane protein in skin cells transmits signals that trigger pain and tissue damage that put the 'burn' into sunburn. Wolfgang Liedtke of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and his colleagues switched off production of a cellular ion channel called TRPV4 in the epidermis of genetically engineered mice. They exposed the mice to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which causes sunburn.