ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2018
Piezo2 channel-Merkel cell signaling modulates the conversion of touch to itch.
Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
110 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The interplay between epidermal cells and the cutaneous sensory nervous: a systematic review.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Association of Skin Dryness and Disease-related Parameters with Mechanical Alloknesis in Atopic Dermatitis: A Crosssectional and Prospective Cohort Study.Acta dermato-venereologica · 2026Article
- Article
- From neuroimmune circuits to targeted therapy of chronic pruritus.Pharmacological reviews · 2026Review
- Spinal cord Tau pathology induces tactile deficits and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease via dysregulation of CCK neurons.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Neuromechanobiology: Bridging Mechanobiology and Neuroscience Through Evidence and Open Questions.Cells · 2026Review
- An innovative in vitro system unveils IGF1R signaling regulating Merkel cell generation.Stem cell reports · 2026Article
- Spinal and supraspinal mechanisms of chronic itch: from neuronal circuits to the neuro-immune-microbial axis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Targeting Piezo1/2 ion channels for modulation of the lymphatic system: mechanisms, applications, and therapeutic prospects.Burns & trauma · 2026Review
- Piezo2 in Mechanosensory Biology: From Physiological Homeostasis to Disease-Promoting Mechanisms.Cell proliferation · 2026Review
- Platelets Orchestrate a Neuroimmune Axis Driving Cutaneous Inflammation and Itch.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Trigeminal nerve root compression induced neuroinflammatory response promotes mechanical allodynia through the CGRP/SP-Piezo2 axis via CaCellular & molecular biology letters · 2025Article
- Central neural circuits underlying itch sensation.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Organoid Modeling of Mouse Anterior Tongue Epithelium Reveals Regional and Cellular Identities.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- A Reference Atlas of the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Increased expression of the PIEZO2 mechanoreceptor in fibroblasts and endothelial cells within the lymphatic and vascular vessels of keloids.The Journal of pathology · 2025Article
- Merkel cell stimulation in fear and sensory signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Primary sensory neuron dysfunction underlying mechanical itch hypersensitivity in a Shank3 mouse model of autism.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms of itch sensation and the anti-itch drug targets.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2025Review
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The somatosensory system relays many signals ranging from light touch to pain and itch. Touch is critical to spatial awareness and communication. However, in disease states, innocuous mechanical stimuli can provoke pathologic sensations such as mechanical itch (alloknesis). The molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern this conversion remain unknown. We found that in mice, alloknesis in aging and dry skin is associated with a loss of Merkel cells, the touch receptors in the skin. Targeted genetic deletion of Merkel cells and associated mechanosensitive Piezo2 channels in the skin was sufficient to produce alloknesis. Chemogenetic activation of Merkel cells protected against alloknesis in dry skin. This study reveals a previously unknown function of the cutaneous touch receptors and may provide insight into the development of alloknesis.
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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.