# Identification of olfactory mucosa protein fingerprints in COVID-19

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2022 · $196,250

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A sudden onset of olfactory impairment is reported as one of the early clinical manifestations of COVID-19,
particularly among mild and asymptomatic patients. Though reports indicate that olfactory loss resolves within
two weeks, it is unknown what proportion of the patients develops persistent postinfectious olfactory
dysfunction due to lacking longitudinal studies. Olfactory neuroepithelium, located in the olfactory cleft region of
the nasal cavity, is venerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. A known receptor to SARS-CoV-2, angiotensin-
converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is expressed in the non-neuronal cell types but not olfactory sensory neurons in
the human olfactory epithelium. We hypothesize that SARS-CoV-2 infection in the olfactory epithelium
produces an inflammatory microenvironment which in turn impacts on the function of olfactory sensory
neurons. Systematic proteomics analysis of the olfactory mucosa microenvironment will facilitate the
identification of COVID-19 induced inflammation and provide a better understanding of mechanisms in
olfactory loss and recovery. To determine olfactory mucosal proteomics, we will sample the olfactory cleft
region with nasal swab under the guidance of endoscopy and perform TMT-based quantitative mass
spectrometry analysis to compare COVID-19 positive anosmic/hyposmic with non-COVID-19 normosmic
subjects. We aim to 1. identify distinct protein fingerprints in Covid-19 olfactory mucosa; 2 perform longitudinal
analysis of olfactory mucosa proteomes to predict olfactory recovery. Data established through this study will
also help identify COVID-19 biomarkers, guide therapeutic strategies, and provide insight into the general
mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 triggered inflammation and its impact on neuronal functions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10436366
- **Project number:** 5R21AI159655-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Qizhi Gong
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $196,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10436366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10436366, Identification of olfactory mucosa protein fingerprints in COVID-19 (5R21AI159655-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10436366. Licensed CC0.

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