Touch sensation requires the mechanically gated ion channel ELKIN1

The extraordinary speed of touch perception is enabled by mechanically-activated ion channels, the opening of which excites cutaneous sensory endings to initiate sensation. We identify Elkin1(1) as an ion channel likely gated by mechanical force necessary for normal behavioral touch sensitivity in mice. Touch insensitivity in Elkin1-/- mice was caused by a loss of mechanically-activated currents (MA-currents) in around half of all sensory neurons that are activated by light touch (low threshold mechanoreceptors, LTMRs). Reintroduction of Elkin1 into sensory neurons from Elkin1-/- mice acutely restored MA-currents. Additionally, siRNA mediated knockdown of Elkin1 from induced human sensory neurons substantially reduced indentation-induced MA-currents supporting a conserved role for Elkin1 in human touch. Our data identify Elkin1 as a novel core component of touch transduction in mammals., , , # Touch sensation requires the mechanically-gated ion channel ELKIN1.

The dataset uploaded here is in prism format and contains all the figures shown in Chakrabarti et al 2023. Datasets were derived from a variety of experimental protocols including behavioral data, patch clamp electrophysiology, skin nerve electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, tripartite-GFP assay. All the data here are processed, along with corresponding graphs.

## Description of the data and file structure

Data are structured in a prism format according to the figure numbers of the manuscript. For example, if the name of the prism file is \"Fig2_Supp3\", it contains data and graphs from Figure 2 and Supplementary Figure Fig S3 from the manuscript. The names of the data tables in prism is descriptive of the experiment conducted followed by the technique used. For example, the data table named \"Threshold_patchclamp_pillar\" contains data of thresholds of mechanical activation as assessed using pillar assay and pat...