Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34164579›Full record

ArticleItch (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Signs of chronic itch in the mouse imiquimod model of psoriasiform dermatitis: sex differences and roles of TRPV1 and TRPA1.

Taylor Follansbee, Yan Zhou, Xuesong Wu, Jeremy Delahanty, Amanda Nguyen, Dan Domocos, Mirela Iodi Carstens, Samuel T Hwang, Earl Carstens

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Itch (Philadelphia, Pa.). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% 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

10 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Itching, Ionic Channels, Immune System, Magnesium and Antioxidants.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Role of TRP ion channels in pruritus.Neuroscience letters · 2022
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
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

9 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.

Taylor FollansbeeDepartment of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA.
Yan ZhouDepartment of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA.
Xuesong WuDepartment of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
Jeremy DelahantyDepartment of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA.
Amanda NguyenDepartment of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA.
Dan DomocosDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology and Biophysics, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
Mirela Iodi CarstensDepartment of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA.
Samuel T HwangDepartment of Dermatology, University of California, Davis, CA.
Earl CarstensDepartment of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA.
Institute of Neurobiology · BGFirst Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University · CNUniversity of Bucharest · ROUniversity of California, Davis · US

Funding

Spinal mechanisms of itchR01AR057194 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI CARSTENS, EARL E · 2009 to 2019
$3.4M
Role of NK-1 receptors in descending modulation and ascending transmission of itchR01AR076434 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI CARSTENS, EARL E · 2020 to 2024
$1.7M
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR057194NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR076434
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plaque psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects a substantial proportion of the world population. This disorder is characterized by scaly, thick skin, intense ongoing itch, and itch from light touch (such as clothing contacting skin, called "alloknesis"). Imiquimod is a topical treatment for basal cell carcinomas and warts that has been used to create a mouse model of plaque psoriasis. Imiquimod-treated male, but not female, wildtype B6 mice showed significant increases in spontaneous scratching, while both sexes exhibited increased alloknesis, indicative of chronic itch. TRPV1 and TRPA1 knockout (KO) mice all exhibited numeric increases in spontaneous scratching which were significant for TRPV1KO mice and TRPA1KO males. Female TRPV1KO and TRPA1KO mice exhibited imiquimod-induced increases in alloknesis scores that did not significantly differ from wildtypes, while alloknesis scores in imiquimod-treated male TRPV1KO and TRPA1KO mice were significantly lower compared with wildtypes, suggesting that these ion channels are necessary for the development of alloknesis in males but not females in this model. Curiously, none of the groups exhibited any significant overall change in chloroquine-evoked scratching following imiquimod treatment, indicating that hyperknesis does not develop in this mouse model. Overall, the data indicate that there are sex differences in this mouse model of psoriasis, and that TRPV1 and TRPA1 ion channels have a small role in promoting the development of itch sensitization. This contrasts with the far greater role these channels play in the manifestation of skin changes in psoriatic dermatitis.

Indexed as

AlloknesisHyperknesisImiquimodItchPsoriasisSpontaneous scratching

Identifiers

PMID34164579
PMCPMC8219242
OpenAlexW2965892740

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

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.