Molecular biological studies on the pathophysiology and prophylactic treatment of postviral olfactory disorder

病毒后嗅觉障碍（PVOD）的发病机制尚未阐明。在这项研究中，我们研究了由宿主免疫反应引起的嗅觉神经上皮的继发性损伤。Poly（I：C）是一种病毒双链RNA的合成类似物，鼻内注射Poly（I：C）可引起炎性细胞浸润和嗅神经上皮损伤。中性粒细胞弹性蛋白酶抑制剂可显著抑制这种损伤，并在血小板减少模型小鼠中得到抑制。这些结果表明，嗜中性粒细胞在嗅觉神经上皮损伤的深度参与。因此，抑制嗜中性粒细胞介导的组织损伤可能是PVOD的预防策略。

The pathogenesis of postviral olfactory disorder (PVOD) has not been clarified. In this study, we investigated the secondary damage of olfactory neuroepithelium caused by host immune responses. Intranasal administration of Poly(I:C), which is a synthetic analog of viral double-stranded RNA, induced the inflammatory cells infiltration and the olfactory neuroepithelial damage. The damage was significantly inhibited by a neutrophil elastase inhibitor and was suppressed in neutropenic model mice. These findings suggest that neutrophils are deeply involved in the olfactory neuroepithelial damage. Thus the inhibition of neutrophil-mediated tissue damage could be a prophylactic strategy for PVOD.