Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33846502›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Mechanotransduction channel Piezo is widely expressed in the spider, Cupiennius salei, mechanosensory neurons and central nervous system.

Jessica A G Johnson, Hongxia Liu, Ulli Höger, Samantha M Rogers, Kajanan Sivapalan, Andrew S French, Päivi H Torkkeli

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The Sensory Basis of Planarian Behavior.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica A G JohnsonDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Hongxia LiuDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Ulli HögerDepartment of Biology, Mount Saint Vincent University, 166 Bedford Highway, Halifax, NS, B3M 2J6, Canada.
Samantha M RogersDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Kajanan SivapalanDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Andrew S FrenchDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Päivi H TorkkeliDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, P.O. BOX 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada. Paivi.Torkkeli@dal.ca.
Dalhousie University · CAMount Saint Vincent University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mechanosensory neurons use mechanotransduction (MET) ion channels to detect mechanical forces and displacements. Proteins that function as MET channels have appeared multiple times during evolution and occur in at least four different families: the DEG/ENaC and TRP channels, as well as the TMC and Piezo proteins. We found twelve putative members of MET channel families in two spider transcriptomes, but detected only one, the Piezo protein, by in situ hybridization in their mechanosensory neurons. In contrast, probes for orthologs of TRP, ENaC or TMC genes that code MET channels in other species did not produce any signals in these cells. An antibody against C. salei Piezo detected the protein in all parts of their mechanosensory cells and in many neurons of the CNS. Unspecific blockers of MET channels, Ruthenium Red and GsMTx4, had no effect on the mechanically activated currents of the mechanosensory VS-3 neurons, but the latter toxin reduced action potential firing when these cells were stimulated electrically. The Piezo protein is expressed throughout the spider nervous system including the mechanosensory neurons. It is possible that it contributes to mechanosensory transduction in spider mechanosensilla, but it must have other functions in peripheral and central neurons.

Indexed as

Mechanotransduction, CellularAnimalsCentral Nervous SystemGene Expression RegulationIntercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsIon ChannelsNeuronsRNA, MessengerRuthenium RedSpidersSpider VenomsStructural Homology, ProteinSubcutaneous TissueSynapsinsTranscriptomeIntercellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsIon ChannelsMTx4 protein, Grammostola spatulataRNA, MessengerRuthenium RedSpider VenomsSynapsins

Identifiers

PMID33846502
PMCPMC8042031
OpenAlexW3110804111

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.