TRPV4 blockade increases tracer penetration

This skin hypothesis asks why wet friction might let irritants in despite reduced itch. It compares interleukin-31 blockade, reducing an immune itch signal, with delayed TRPV4 blockade. TRPV4 is a cell-surface ion channel proposed to repair connections between skin cells. In a macrophage-free model, used to test the barrier mechanism, delayed TRPV4 blockade is predicted to align outer defects with deeper junction defects. A tracer, a detectable substance, could pass through this route. Removing TRPV4 from keratinocytes, the epidermis's main cells, should reproduce it. Testing needs images registering layer-specific defects, junctions and tracer entry, plus sideways spread.