Sensory taste receptors and ageusia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: literature review

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, Danyelle Cristina Pereira
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Vasconcelos, Marcos Altyeres Coelho, Moreira, Pedro Henrique de Aguiar, Gomes, Paulo Dyago Borges, Bazán, Tamyris Alicely Xavier Noguera, Moraes, Fabiana Pereira, Sousa, Davi Ferreira, Siqueira, Fabiana Suellen Figuerêdo de, Silva, Luís Cláudio Nascimento da, Holanda, Rodrigo Assunção, Galvão, Livia Camara de Carvalho
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/29122
• topic: Ageusia; COVID-19; Enseñanza; Gusto.; Ageusia; COVID-19; Ensino; Paladar.; Ageusia; COVID-19; Teaching; Taste.

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), the largest recorded pandemic of the 21st century, is an acute respiratory infection with potential severity. Among the symptoms resulting from the disease, sensory loss, such as ageusia, represents a challenge among researchers, since the mechanisms related to viral pathophysiology against neurosensitive cells are not yet fully understood. Given this context, this study aimed to review the recent literature on loss of taste sensation and SARS-CoV-2 infection. To this end, a narrative review was carried out, searching articles from the main databases, such as PubMed, Scielo, and Google Scholar, and selecting those that had affinity with the proposed theme. Through the study, it was found that ageusia is a common symptom in patients with COVID-19, mainly due to the significant presence of cell receptors that mediate the viral infection in the oral region. Mechanisms suggested to explain this loss of sensation involve damage to the taste nerves, deficiencies in serum and salivary zinc levels, interaction with sialic acid receptors, and the pro-inflammatory cytokine storm response itself to the viral attack. This review allowed the identification of several mechanisms suggested as potential causes of ageusia in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, enabling an initial understanding regarding the topic and a direction for further studies.