ArticleNature2013
Genetic identification of C fibres that detect massage-like stroking of hairy skin in vivo.
Article in Nature, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 141 papers.
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Who cites it
141 citing papers in PubMed, 283 citations in OpenAlex.
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- The effect of acute administration of vitamin D on micro vascular endothelial function in Caucasians and South Asian Indians.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2013Trial
- Effects of early-life tactile experience enrichment on autistic-like behaviors and synaptic alterations inFundamental research · 2026Article
- Anatomical Characteristics of Tongue-Innervating Mechanoreceptors.The Journal of comparative neurology · 2026Article
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- Social touch-like tactile stimulation alleviates stress-induced anxiety-like behavior by enhancing the oxytocin level in the prefrontal cortex.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
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- γδ T Cell-Mediated Neuroimmune Interactions in Skin Inflammation and Allergy.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2026Review
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- Biomimetic hairy affective-touch sensory AI interface.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Mrgprb4-Lineage Neurons Participate in the Intervention of TENS Effects on Chronic Pain and Anxiety-like Symptoms in an Inflammatory Pain Mouse Model.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Oxytocin Modulation of Spinal Circuits Drives Therapeutic Benefits of Massage.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- TPM-like manipulations exerted an antidepressant effect and regulated amino acid metabolism and GHR/IGF-1 pathway in the liver in adolescent female CUMS rats.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Targeting Tmem63b and Piezo2 in C-fiber low-threshold mechanoreceptors: Limitation of Vglut3-IRES-Cre.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
- Fast-conducting mechanonociceptors uniquely engage reflexive and affective pain circuitry to drive protective responses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
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- Identification of sensory fiber types in mouse temporomandibular joint tissues.Scientific reports · 2025Article
81 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Stroking of the skin produces pleasant sensations that can occur during social interactions with conspecifics, such as grooming. Despite numerous physiological studies (reviewed in ref. 2), molecularly defined sensory neurons that detect pleasant stroking of hairy skin in vivo have not been reported. Previously, we identified a rare population of unmyelinated sensory neurons in mice that express the G-protein-coupled receptor MRGPRB4 (refs 5, 6). These neurons exclusively innervate hairy skin with large terminal arborizations that resemble the receptive fields of C-tactile (CT) afferents in humans. Unlike other molecularly defined mechanosensory C-fibre subtypes, MRGPRB4(+) neurons could not be detectably activated by sensory stimulation of the skin ex vivo. Therefore, we developed a preparation for calcium imaging in the spinal projections of these neurons during stimulation of the periphery in intact mice. Here we show that MRGPRB4(+) neurons are activated by massage-like stroking of hairy skin, but not by noxious punctate mechanical stimulation. By contrast, a different population of C fibres expressing MRGPRD was activated by pinching but not by stroking, consistent with previous physiological and behavioural data. Pharmacogenetic activation of Mrgprb4-expressing neurons in freely behaving mice promoted conditioned place preference, indicating that such activation is positively reinforcing and/or anxiolytic. These data open the way to understanding the function of MRGPRB4 neurons during natural behaviours, and provide a general approach to the functional characterization of genetically identified subsets of somatosensory neurons in vivo.
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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.