ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2004
Molecular profiling reveals synaptic release machinery in Merkel cells.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
95 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 190 citations in OpenAlex.
- The interplay between epidermal cells and the cutaneous sensory nervous: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- The Lamellar Cells of Vertebrate Meissner and Pacinian Corpuscles: Development, Characterization, and Functions.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Single cell analysis of developing Merkel cells reveals the emergence of non-coding RNA biotypes as a hallmark of terminal differentiation.Cell death and differentiation · 2026Article
- Choline acetyltransferase as a marker for Merkel cells in mucosal and skin tissues.Journal of oral biosciences · 2026Article
- Pharmacologic reversion of Merkel cell carcinoma via CBP/p300 inhibition.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Calcium regulation of muscle spindle mechanosensory afferent function.Experimental physiology · 2025Article
- Merkel cell stimulation in fear and sensory signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Trauma and Sensory Systems: Biological Mechanisms Involving the Skin and the 17q21 Gene Cluster.Biological psychiatry · 2025Review
- Article
- Mapping the developmental potential of mouse inner ear organoids at single-cell resolution.iScience · 2024Article
- Sensory Schwann cells set perceptual thresholds for touch and selectively regulate mechanical nociception.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Sensory cells in tunicates: insights into mechanoreceptor evolution.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2024Review
- A helping hand: roles for accessory cells in the sense of touch across species.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2024Review
- How Merkel cells transduce mechanical stimuli: A biophysical model of Merkel cells.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- SOX2-Sensing: Insights into the Role of SOX2 in the Generation of Sensory Cell Types in Vertebrates.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Effects of potassium channel modulators on the responses of mammalian slowly adapting mechanoreceptors.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2022Article
- Review
- The structure of sensory afferent compartments in health and disease.Journal of anatomy · 2022Review
- [Research advances on the function of skin touch receptor Merkel cells].Zhonghua shao shang yu chuang mian xiu fu za zhi · 2022Article
- Tactile sensitivity in the rat: a correlation between receptor structure and function.Experimental brain research · 2021Article
35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Merkel cell-neurite complexes are somatosensory receptors that initiate the perception of gentle touch. The role of epidermal Merkel cells within these complexes is disputed. To ask whether Merkel cells are genetically programmed to be excitable cells that may participate in touch reception, we purified Merkel cells from touch domes and used DNA microarrays to compare gene expression in Merkel cells and other epidermal cells. We identified 362 Merkel-cell-enriched transcripts, including neuronal transcription factors, presynaptic molecules, and ion-channel subunits. Antibody staining of skin sections showed that Merkel cells are immunoreactive for presynaptic proteins, including piccolo, Rab3C, vesicular glutamate transporter 2, and cholecystokinin 26-33. These data indicate that Merkel cells are poised to release glutamate and neuropeptides. Finally, by using Ca(2+) imaging, we discovered that Merkel cells have L- and P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels, which have been shown to trigger vesicle release at synapses. These results demonstrate that Merkel cells are excitable cells and suggest that they release neurotransmitters to shape touch sensitivity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.