Stem cells with 'dual identity' linked to loss of smell from sinus inflammation

[Joachim]

In experiments with mice and human tissue samples, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report evidence that neuronal stem cells in the part of the nose responsible for the sense of smell transform themselves to perpetuate the long-term inflammation in chronic sinusitis. Results of the study, they say, suggest that the stem cells' ability to switch their identity to join in the immune response may serve as a protective mechanism, while preserving the potential to regenerate the sense of smell tissue once the inflammation resolves.

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