Department of Molecular Cell Genetics, L. Rydygier Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, uI. Curie Sklodowskiej 9, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Department of Anatomy, L. Rydygier Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, ul. Lukasiewicza 1, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
ACS Chem Neurosci. 2020 Aug 5;11(15):2152-2155. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00406. Epub 2020 Jul 16.
It has become clear since the pandemic broke out that SARS-CoV-2 virus causes reduction of smell and taste in a significant fraction of COVID-19 patients. The olfactory dysfunction often occurs early in the course of the disease, and sometimes it is the only symptom in otherwise asymptomatic carriers. The cellular mechanisms for these specific olfactory disturbances in COVID-19 are now beginning to be elucidated. Several very recent papers contributed to explaining the key cellular steps occurring in the olfactory epithelium leading to anosmia/hyposmia (collectively known as dysosmia) initiated by SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this Viewpoint, we discuss current progress in research on olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 and we also propose an updated model of the SARS-CoV-2-induced dysosmia. The emerging central role of sustentacular cells and inflammatory processes in the olfactory epithelium are particularly considered. The proposed model of anosmia in COVID-19 does not answer unequivocally whether the new coronavirus exploits the olfactory route to rapidly or slowly reach the brain in COVID-19 patients. To answer this question, new systematic studies using an infectious virus and appropriate animal models are needed.
自疫情爆发以来，很明显，SARS-CoV-2 病毒会导致相当一部分 COVID-19 患者嗅觉和味觉减退。嗅觉功能障碍通常在疾病早期发生，有时它是无症状携带者唯一的症状。COVID-19 中这些特定嗅觉障碍的细胞机制现在开始被阐明。最近有几篇论文有助于解释导致嗅觉丧失/嗅觉减退（统称为嗅觉障碍）的关键细胞步骤，这些步骤是由 SARS-CoV-2 感染引起的。在本观点中，我们讨论了 COVID-19 中嗅觉功能障碍研究的最新进展，我们还提出了 SARS-CoV-2 诱导的嗅觉障碍的更新模型。特别考虑了支持细胞和炎症过程在嗅上皮中的新兴核心作用。提出的 COVID-19 嗅觉丧失模型并不能明确回答新冠病毒是否利用嗅觉途径在 COVID-19 患者中快速或缓慢地到达大脑。要回答这个问题，需要使用传染性病毒和适当的动物模型进行新的系统研究。
