ArticleCell2017
Sensory Neurons Co-opt Classical Immune Signaling Pathways to Mediate Chronic Itch.
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Article in Cell, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 501 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
501citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
73.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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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.
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Who cites it
501 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,014 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of IL-4Rα Inhibitors for Atopic Dermatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.The Australasian journal of dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- The interplay between epidermal cells and the cutaneous sensory nervous: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- European Guideline (EuroGuiDerm) on atopic eczema: Living update.Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV · 2025Guideline
- Emerging trends and research hotspots in atopic dermatitis-related itch over the past 10 years: a bibliometric and visual analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of lebrikizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Dupilumab in Adults with Prurigo Nodularis with or Without Atopic Comorbidities: A Subgroup Analysis from Two Randomized Phase III Clinical Trials.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Trial
- Efficacy and Safety of Nemolizumab in Patients With Moderate to Severe Prurigo Nodularis: The OLYMPIA 1 Randomized Clinical Phase 3 Trial.JAMA dermatology · 2025Trial
- Ruxolitinib Cream Monotherapy Improved Symptoms and Quality of Life in Adults and Adolescents with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: Patient-Reported Outcomes from Two Phase III Studies.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2025Trial
- Rapid response of lichen planus to baricitinib associated with suppression of cytotoxic CXCL13+CD8+ T cells.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Trial
- Interleukin-1α inhibitor bermekimab in patients with atopic dermatitis: randomized and nonrandomized studies.Archives of dermatological research · 2024Trial
- Efficacy, Safety, and Long-Term Disease Control of Ruxolitinib Cream Among Adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis: Pooled Results from Two Randomized Phase 3 Studies.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2024Trial
- Abrocitinib Provides Rapid and Sustained Improvement in Skin Pain and Is Associated with Improved Quality of Life Outcomes in Adult and Adolescent Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis.Dermatology (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Trial
- D-CARE (Delgocitinib-Chronic hAnd Eczema Response Evaluation): A Retrospective, Multicenter, Real-World Study of Patients with Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE) Treated with Delgocitinib 2% Cream-Temporal Analysis of Symptom and Clinical Sign Response.Dermatology and therapy · 2026Article
- Abrocitinib for pediatric Toxicodendron contact dermatitis.JAAD case reports · 2026Article
- Emerging Paediatric Uses of Dupilumab Beyond Approvals.Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2026Review
- Targeting the neuro-immune-skin axis: Advanced functional biomaterials for intelligent wound management and regeneration.Materials today. Bio · 2026Review
- Mast Cells in Neuroimmune Interactions: Mechanisms, Pathophysiological Roles, and Therapeutic Implications.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- The potential effects, mechanisms and translational perspectives of natural products in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.Chinese medicine · 2026Review
- The Mast Cell-Substance P Neuroimmune Axis in Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Atopic Dermatitis: Molecular Mechanisms and Pathophysiological Perspectives.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Article
441 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
28 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Landon K OetjenCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Madison R MackCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Jing FengCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Timothy M WhelanCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Haixia NiuCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Changxiong J GuoCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Sisi ChenDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
Anna M TrierCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Amy Z XuCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Shivani V TripathiCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Jialie LuoCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Xiaofei GaoCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Lihua YangDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Samantha L HamiltonDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Peter L WangDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Jonathan R BrestoffDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
M Laurin CouncilDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Richard BrasingtonDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
András SchafferDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Frank BrombacherInternational Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Division of Immunology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa.
Chyi-Song HsiehDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Robert W GereauDepartment of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Mark J MillerDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Zhou-Feng ChenCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Hongzhen HuCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Steve DavidsonDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, USA.
Qin LiuCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Brian S KimCenter for the Study of Itch, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Electronic address: briankim@wustl.edu.
Washington University in St. Louis · USUniversity of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Cincinnati Medical Center · US
Funding
Washington University Center for Cellular ImagingP30CA091842 · NCI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI AIMEE S JAMES · 2001 to 2026
$128.0MWU INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCESUL1TR002345 · NCATS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI William G. Powderly · 2017 to 2026
$97.8MWashington University Institute of Clinical and Translational SciencesUL1TR000448 · NCATS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI EVANOFF, BRADLEY A · 2012 to 2016
$41.4MWashington University DDRCC Supplemental Equipment RequestP30DK052574 · NIDDK · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Nicholas O. Davidson · 2000 to 2026
$30.8MPRINCIPLES IN PULMONARY RESEARCHT32HL007317 · NHLBI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Steven Brody, Michael J Holtzman · 1985 to 2026
$16.1MMECHANISMS OF PERIPHERAL MGLUR MODULATION OF NOCICEPTIONR01NS042595 · NINDS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI GEREAU, ROBERT W · 2002 to 2017
$5.2MMOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF THE ITCH SENSATION IN THE SPINAL CORDR01AR056318 · NIAMS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CHEN, ZHOUFENG · 2009 to 2018
$4.5MThe Neural Basis of Ocular SensationsR01EY024704 · NEI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI LIU, QIN · 2014 to 2024
$4.3MNeuroimmune Regulation of Atopic DermatitisR01AR070116 · NIAMS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI KIM, BRIAN · 2016 to 2021
$3.8MEpithelial Responses to Bacterial InvasionR01AI077600 · NIAID · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI MILLER, MARK JAMES · 2009 to 2021
$3.8MTARGETING THE TRANSIENT RECEPTOR POTENTIAL CHANNELS TO IMPROVE BOWEL DYSFUNCTIONR01DK103901 · NIDDK · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI HU, HONGZHEN · 2015 to 2023
$3.4MMECHANISMS OF DESENSITIZATION OF MOR1D-GRPR CROSSTALKR01DA037261 · NIDA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CHEN, ZHOUFENG · 2015 to 2019
$2.1MNCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000448NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR002345NCI NIH HHS P30 CA091842NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR027552NEI NIH HHS R01 EY024704NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL007317NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI077600NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI125743NIAMS NIH HHS K08 AR065577NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR056318NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR070116NIAMS NIH HHS R21 AR068012NIAMS NIH HHS R56 AR064294NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA037261NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK052574NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK103901NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM101218NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS042595NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS094344
Abstract
Mammals have evolved neurophysiologic reflexes, such as coughing and scratching, to expel invading pathogens and noxious environmental stimuli. It is well established that these responses are also associated with chronic inflammatory diseases, including asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, the mechanisms by which inflammatory pathways promote sensations such as itch remain poorly understood. Here, we show that type 2 cytokines directly activate sensory neurons in both mice and humans. Further, we demonstrate that chronic itch is dependent on neuronal IL-4Rα and JAK1 signaling. We also observe that patients with recalcitrant chronic itch that failed other immunosuppressive therapies markedly improve when treated with JAK inhibitors. Thus, signaling mechanisms previously ascribed to the immune system may represent novel therapeutic targets within the nervous system. Collectively, this study reveals an evolutionarily conserved paradigm in which the sensory nervous system employs classical immune signaling pathways to influence mammalian behavior.
Indexed as
Signal TransductionAnimalsGanglia, SpinalHumansInterleukin-13Interleukin-4Janus Kinase 1MiceMice, Inbred C57BLPruritusSensory Receptor CellsSkin DiseasesInterleukin-13Interleukin-4Jak1 protein, mouseJanus Kinase 1atopic dermatitisIL-13IL-4IL-4RαitchJAK1pruriceptorpruritustype 2 cytokines
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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.