Meunier Nicolas
Unité de virologie et immunologie moléculaires (UR892), INRAE, Université Paris-Saclay, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
Med Sci (Paris). 2023 Feb;39(2):119-128. doi: 10.1051/medsci/2023007. Epub 2023 Feb 17.
The sense of smell has been underestimated for a long time in humans. It has been brought to the fore by its sudden disappearance during the Covid-19 pandemic of which anosmia (complete loss of smell) is one of the major symptoms. However, respiratory viruses have long been associated with smell disorders, 25% of which are linked to a viral infection. Olfaction begins in the nose within the olfactory epithelium which has the particularity of containing neurons in direct contact with the environment. Several respiratory viruses are known for their replicative capacity within this epithelium. This is particularly the case for the flu virus (influenza) and bronchiolitis (respiratory syncytial virus) but their tropism for this tissue is much lower than SARS-CoV-2. The understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology in the nasal cavity makes it possible to reveal part of the links between viral infection and olfactory disorders.
长期以来，嗅觉在人类中一直被低估。在新冠疫情期间，嗅觉突然消失使其成为人们关注的焦点，嗅觉丧失（完全失去嗅觉）是该疫情的主要症状之一。然而，呼吸道病毒长期以来一直与嗅觉障碍有关，其中25%与病毒感染有关。嗅觉始于鼻腔内的嗅觉上皮，其特殊性在于含有与外界直接接触的神经元。已知几种呼吸道病毒在这种上皮细胞内具有复制能力。流感病毒（流行性感冒）和细支气管炎（呼吸道合胞病毒）尤其如此，但它们对该组织的嗜性远低于严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）。对SARS-CoV-2在鼻腔内病理生理学的了解有助于揭示病毒感染与嗅觉障碍之间的部分联系。
