Recapitulating atopic dermatitis in three dimensions: cross talk between keratinocytes and nerve fibers

Roggenkamp et al. (2013) report a significant advance in the in vitro reconstruction of atopic dermatitis (AD) by coculturing lesional human keratinocytes with sensory nerve fibers. This work has important implications for understanding the interaction between the resident skin cells and the peripheral nervous system in AD, and it sheds light on the pathways leading to the pruritus that typifies this disease.