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Updated: Dec 19, 2025

Infection of Primary Nasal Epithelial Cells Grown at an Air-Liquid Interface to Characterize Human Coronavirus-Host Interactions
Published on: September 22, 2023
Elevated ACE2 expression in the olfactory neuroepithelium: implications for anosmia and upper respiratory SARS-CoV-2
Mengfei Chen1, Wenjuan Shen1, Nicholas R Rowan1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Abstract:
The site of SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication critically impacts strategies for COVID-19 diagnosis, transmission mitigation, and treatment. We determined the cellular location of the SARS-CoV-2 target receptor protein, ACE2, in the human upper airway, finding striking enrichment (200-700 folds) in the olfactory neuroepithelium relative to nasal respiratory or tracheal epithelial cells. This cellular tropism of SARS-CoV-2 may underlie its high transmissibility and association with olfactory dysfunction, while suggesting a viral reservoir potentially amenable to intranasal therapy.
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