The tether model and the role of skin-derived laminin-332 (laminin-5) in sensory mechanotransduction

The skin is our largest sensory organ and required for the perception of the outside world using our sense of touch and pain. The underlying mechanism for sensory mechanotransduction at the molecular level is poorly understood. In sensory hair cells of the inner ear, extracellular protein filaments called tip links tethering mechanosensitive ion channels between stereocilia are required for mechan…