Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40097369›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of comparative neurology2025

Transcriptomic and Histological Characterization of Telocytes in the Human Dorsal Root Ganglion.

Rainer V Haberberger, Dusan Matusica, Stephanie Shiers, Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, Theodore J Price

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of comparative neurology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Rainer V HaberbergerDepartment of Anatomy and Pathology, School of Biomedicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8043-3786
Dusan MatusicaAnatomy, Histology & Pathology, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Stephanie ShiersDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9646-1850
Ishwarya SankaranarayananDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA.
Theodore J PriceDepartment of Neuroscience, Center for Advanced Pain Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6971-6221

Funding

Mechanistic underpinnings of chronic low back painU19NS130608 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS · PI Michele Curatolo, Patrick M Dougherty · 2022 to 2026
$13.6M
Hospital Research Foundation C-PJ-009-Pain-2021NIH HHS U19NS130608NINDS NIH HHS U19 NS130608
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Telocytes are interstitial cells characterized by long processes that span considerable distances within tissues, likely facilitating coordination and interaction with various cell types. Although present in central and peripheral neuronal tissues, their role remains elusive. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) house pseudounipolar afferent neurons responsible for transmitting signals related to temperature, proprioception, and nociception. This study aimed to investigate the presence and function of telocytes in human DRG by examining their transcriptional profile, anatomical location, and ultrastructure. Combined expression of CD34 and PDGFRA is a marker gene set for telocytes, and our sequencing data revealed CD34 and PDGFRA expressing cells comprise roughly 1.5%-3% of DRG cells. Combined expression of CD34 and PDGFRA is a putative marker gene set for telocytes. Further analysis identified nine subclusters with enriched cluster-specific genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) pathway analysis suggested vascular, immune, and connective tissue-associated putative telocyte subtypes, mapping over 3000 potential receptor-ligand interactions between sensory neurons and these CD34 and PDGFRA expressing putative telocytes were identified using a ligand-receptors interactome platform. Immunohistochemistry identified CD34+ve telocytes in the endoneural space of DRGs, next to neuron-satellite complexes, in perivascular spaces and in the endoneural space between nerve fiber bundles, consistent with pathway analysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed their location identifying characteristic elongated nucleus, long and thin telopodes containing vesicles, often surrounded by a basal lamina. This study provides the first gene expression analysis of telocytes in complex human tissue, specifically the DRG, highlighting functional differences based on tissue location while revealing no significant ultrastructural variations.

Indexed as

Ganglia, SpinalTelocytesTranscriptomeAdultAgedAntigens, CD34FemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedReceptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alphaAntigens, CD34Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alphadorsal root ganglionhumantelocyte

Identifiers

PMID40097369
PMCPMC11913768

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Registered trials

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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.