ArticleNature neuroscience2013
A subpopulation of nociceptors specifically linked to itch.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 328 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
328 citing papers in PubMed, 605 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunopathogenesis of itch: an integrative framework for chronic pruritus.JID innovations : skin science from molecules to population health · 2026Review
- Heart-Specific Spinal and Vagal Afferents: Transcriptomic Signatures and Optogenetically Modulated Functional Coupling With Cardiomyocytes.Comprehensive Physiology · 2026Article
- Sensory neurons shape γδ T cell effector programs to control Psoriasiform Inflammation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Nociceptor circadian clock genes control excitability and pain perception in mice in a sex- and time-dependent manner.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Substance P and somatostatin neurons limit facial itch by recruiting distinct nociceptive circuits in the brainstem.Communications biology · 2026Article
- The Connections Between Pain and Itch: Shared Neuroimmune Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Review
- A basophil-specific GPCR mediates the immune response to helminth infection.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- OPRM1/MRGPRX1 heterodimers drive opioid-induced itch through a peripheral mechanism.Journal of biomedical science · 2026Article
- MrgprC11 expression and function in vagal afferent nerves in the esophagus.American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology · 2026Article
- From neuroimmune circuits to targeted therapy of chronic pruritus.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Review
- Mas-Related G-Protein-Coupled Receptors: Emerging Roles in Neuropathic Pain.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Basophils activate oncostatin M receptor-expressing vagal sensory neurons.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2026Article
- The neuro-immune insights of itch: peripheral mechanisms and central glial contributions.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2026Review
- Endosomal MrGPRX1 signaling sensitizes TRPV1 to enhance itch.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Piezo2 in Mechanosensory Biology: From Physiological Homeostasis to Disease-Promoting Mechanisms.Cell proliferation · 2026Review
- Skin innervation and itsFrontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Reduced Descending Itch Inhibition in Peripheral Neuropathy Patients With Chronic Pruritus.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- IL-2/IL-2Rβγ signaling in pruriceptors drives neuroimmune mechanisms of nivolumab-induced persistent itch.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Article
268 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Itch-specific neurons have been sought for decades. The existence of such neurons has been doubted recently as a result of the observation that itch-mediating neurons also respond to painful stimuli. We genetically labeled and manipulated MrgprA3(+) neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and found that they exclusively innervated the epidermis of the skin and responded to multiple pruritogens. Ablation of MrgprA3(+) neurons led to substantial reductions in scratching evoked by multiple pruritogens and occurring spontaneously under chronic itch conditions, whereas pain sensitivity remained intact. Notably, mice in which TRPV1 was exclusively expressed in MrgprA3(+) neurons exhibited itch, but not pain, behavior in response to capsaicin. Although MrgprA3(+) neurons were sensitive to noxious heat, activation of TRPV1 in these neurons by noxious heat did not alter pain behavior. These data suggest that MrgprA3 defines a specific subpopulation of DRG neurons mediating itch. Our study opens new avenues for studying itch and developing anti-pruritic therapies.
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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.