ArticleCell2021
Visualizing in deceased COVID-19 patients how SARS-CoV-2 attacks the respiratory and olfactory mucosae but spares the olfactory bulb.
Article in Cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 229 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
229 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 384 citations in OpenAlex.
- Treatment of COVID-19 Associated Olfactory Dysfunction: A Systematic Review.Current allergy and asthma reports · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review of the biological mediators of fat taste and smell.Physiological reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Olfactory system measurements in COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neuroradiology · 2023Pooled it
- The APOLLO trial: a proof-of-concept study for vitamin A nasal drops in COVID-19-related postinfectious olfactory dysfunction.Chemical senses · 2026Trial
- Persistent COVID-19 parosmia and olfactory loss post olfactory training: randomized clinical trial comparing central and peripheral-acting therapeutics.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Trial
- Olfactory-Cleft Biopsy in Alzheimer's Disease: An Emerging Neuroimmune Window into Preclinical Pathobiology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Cadherin 1 negatively regulates SARS-CoV-2 infection in the olfactory epithelium.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- On or within: spatial determinants of antigen handling in the nasal turbinates.Current opinion in immunology · 2026Review
- The Unmet Need of Olfactory Testing in Inflammatory Disorders of the Upper Airways-An EAACI Position Paper.Allergy · 2026Review
- Single-nucleus analysis of the adult human olfactory epithelium uncovers shared neurogenesis programs with the brain.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Review
- Eosinophil cationic protein-driven type 2 inflammation impairs olfactory function in a murine model.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026Article
- Different replication behavior of a contemporary porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus strain Gent/PS412 compared with the historical neurotropic reference strain VW572.Veterinary research · 2026Article
- Histopathological changes in the olfactory pathway in COVID-19: An autopsy-based case-control study.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Structural mimics of SARS-CoV-2.Infection · 2026Review
- Prior murine neurotropic coronavirus infection ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalitis.Journal of autoimmunity · 2026Article
- The Effectiveness of Functional Septorhinoplasty in Improving COVID-19-related Olfactory Dysfunction.Facial plastic surgery : FPS · 2026Article
- Review
- Combination antiviral and anti-inflammatory therapy mitigates persistent neurological deficits in mice post SARS-CoV-2 infection.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
169 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
29 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Anosmia, the loss of smell, is a common and often the sole symptom of COVID-19. The onset of the sequence of pathobiological events leading to olfactory dysfunction remains obscure. Here, we have developed a postmortem bedside surgical procedure to harvest endoscopically samples of respiratory and olfactory mucosae and whole olfactory bulbs. Our cohort of 85 cases included COVID-19 patients who died a few days after infection with SARS-CoV-2, enabling us to catch the virus while it was still replicating. We found that sustentacular cells are the major target cell type in the olfactory mucosa. We failed to find evidence for infection of olfactory sensory neurons, and the parenchyma of the olfactory bulb is spared as well. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to be a neurotropic virus. We postulate that transient insufficient support from sustentacular cells triggers transient olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19. Olfactory sensory neurons would become affected without getting infected.
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Registered trials
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.