ReviewTrends in cell biology2015
Merkel cells and neurons keep in touch.
Review in Trends in cell biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
87 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 162 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Lamellar Cells of Vertebrate Meissner and Pacinian Corpuscles: Development, Characterization, and Functions.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- Adhesive pyramidal thorn patches provide pain relief to athletes.The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences · 2019Trial
- Skin-resident Langerhans cells drive neuropathic pain via chemokine-dependent neuron-immune communication.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026Article
- The influence of skin physicochemical properties on electrical sensory sensitivity during transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in women.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Structure-Dependent Resonant Frequency Engineering of Textile Tactile Sensors Toward Rapid and Precise Braille Recognition Surpassing Human Sensation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Choline acetyltransferase as a marker for Merkel cells in mucosal and skin tissues.Journal of oral biosciences · 2026Article
- From touch to triage: translating the NAME model into clinical practice for enhanced neonatal assessment.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Cellular and molecular changes in the skin driving increased nociception and pain during burn injury and repair.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Piezo2 in Mechanosensory Biology: From Physiological Homeostasis to Disease-Promoting Mechanisms.Cell proliferation · 2026Review
- Dendritic atoh1a+ cells serve as Merkel cell precursors during skin development and regeneration.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Merkel cell stimulation in fear and sensory signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Bio-inspired artificial mechanoreceptors with built-in synaptic functions for intelligent tactile skin.Nature materials · 2025Article
- What do we know about the epidermis' optical properties and their influence on optical device functionality?Biophotonics discovery · 2025Review
- Recent progress in the identification and in vitro culture of skin organoids.Regenerative therapy · 2025Review
- Single-cell transcriptomics of human skin reveals age-associated specificity of distinct cell populations.Archives of dermatological research · 2025Article
- Trauma and Sensory Systems: Biological Mechanisms Involving the Skin and the 17q21 Gene Cluster.Biological psychiatry · 2025Review
- Development and regeneration of Merkel cells.Current topics in developmental biology · 2025Review
- Research Progress on Neural Processing of Hand and Forearm Tactile Sensation: A Review Based on fMRI Research.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Review
- Fava Bean Protein Nanofibrils Modulate Cell Membrane Interfaces for Biomolecular Interactions as Unveiled by Atomic Force Microscopy.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
27 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
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The Merkel cell-neurite complex is a unique vertebrate touch receptor comprising two distinct cell types in the skin. Its presence in touch-sensitive skin areas was recognized more than a century ago, but the functions of each cell type in sensory transduction have been unclear. Three recent studies demonstrate that Merkel cells are mechanosensitive cells that function in touch transduction via Piezo2. One study concludes that Merkel cells, rather than sensory neurons, are principal sites of mechanotransduction, whereas two other studies report that both Merkel cells and neurons encode mechanical inputs. Together, these studies settle a long-standing debate on whether or not Merkel cells are mechanosensory cells, and enable future investigations of how these skin cells communicate with neurons.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.