image: A robot arm (foreground) retrieves assay plates from incubators and places them at compound transfer stations or hands them off to another arm (background) that services liquid dispensers or plate readers. This robot enabled the researchers to screen thousands of small molecules for the ability to block a receptor required for itch, Npr1. Using this method, the team identified 15 compounds that inhibited Npr1. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Jul. 10, 2019, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by H.J. Solinski at National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH in Bethesda, MD; and colleagues was titled, 'Inhibition of natriuretic peptide receptor 1 reduces itch in mice.' view more
Credit: Brian Smith, NIH