ReviewAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences2013
Neurotransmitters and synaptic components in the Merkel cell-neurite complex, a gentle-touch receptor.
Review in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- 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
- Choline acetyltransferase as a marker for Merkel cells in mucosal and skin tissues.Journal of oral biosciences · 2026Article
- Piezo2 in Mechanosensory Biology: From Physiological Homeostasis to Disease-Promoting Mechanisms.Cell proliferation · 2026Review
- Detection of neuron specific enolase in the lip and ear pinna of goat (Capra hircus): an immunohistochemical study.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- How Merkel cells transduce mechanical stimuli: A biophysical model of Merkel cells.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Neurophysiology, Neuro-Immune Interactions, and Mechanobiology in Osteopathy in the Cranial Field: An Evidence-Informed Perspective for a Scientific Rationale.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Skin Extracellular Matrix Breakdown Following Paclitaxel Therapy in Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.Cancers · 2023Article
- Effects of camphor and related compounds on slowly adapting mechanoreceptors in the rat sinus hair follicle.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2022Article
- Review
- Prevention of Ageing-The Role of Micro-Needling in Neck and Cleavage Rejuvenation: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- The Form and Function of PIEZO2.Annual review of biochemistry · 2021Review
- The neonatal assessment manual score (NAME) for improving the clinical management of infants: a perspective validity study.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
- Skin-Nerve Co-Culture Systems for Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery.Tissue engineering. Part C, Methods · 2021Review
- Transparent Touch: Insights From Model Systems on Epidermal Control of Somatosensory Innervation.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2021Review
- Review
- Peripheral Mechanobiology of Touch-Studies on Vertebrate Cutaneous Sensory Corpuscles.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Melatonin induces a stimulatory action on the scrotal skin components of Soay ram in the non-breeding season.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- A flexible artificial intrinsic-synaptic tactile sensory organ.Nature communications · 2020Article
- Lifting the veil on the keratinocyte contribution to cutaneous nociception.Protein & cell · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Merkel cells are an enigmatic group of rare cells found in the skin of vertebrates. Most make contacts with somatosensory afferents to form Merkel cell-neurite complexes, which are gentle-touch receptors that initiate slowly adapting type I responses. The function of Merkel cells within the complex remains debated despite decades of research. Numerous anatomical studies demonstrate that Merkel cells form synaptic-like contacts with sensory afferent terminals. Moreover, recent molecular analysis reveals that Merkel cells express dozens of presynaptic molecules that are essential for synaptic vesicle release in neurons. Merkel cells also produce a host of neuroactive substances that can act as fast excitatory neurotransmitters or neuromodulators. Here, we review the major neurotransmitters found in Merkel cells and discuss these findings in relation to the potential function of Merkel cells in touch reception.
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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.