Stem Cells Therapy as a Possible Therapeutic Option in Treating COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

An unfortunate emergence of a new virus SARS-CoV-2, causing a disease known as COVID-19, has spread all around the globe and has caused a pandemic. It primarily affects the respiratory tract and lungs in some cases causing severe organ damage and pneumonia due to overwhelming immune responses. Clinical reports show that the most commons symptoms are fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath, along with several other symptoms. It is thought that an immense cytokine dysregulation in COVID-19 patients is caused following the virus infection. Notably, if patients present with pre-existing specific comorbidities like diabetes or high blood pressure, rates of COVID-19 induced complications and deaths are escalated. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has been shown to alleviate pneumonia and acute respiratory syndrome (ARDS) symptoms, through their immunomodulatory activities in COVID-19 patients. Although more research studies and clinical trial results are needed to elucidate the exact mechanism by which MSCs provide relief to COVID-19 infected patients. Results from clinical trials are encouraging as patients treated with MSCs, regain lung functions and have restored levels of cytokines and trophic factors underscoring the fact that stem cell therapy can be, at least, a complementary therapy to alleviate sufferings in COVID-19 patients. This review discusses the possible therapeutic uses of MSCs for treating COVID-19. Graphical Abstract

Stem cell therapy for COVID‐19, ARDS and pulmonary fibrosis

“…Because COVID-19 was first officially reported in China, it is unsurprising that 34% of these trials were registered in China. In China, a total of 30…”

“…However, due to many ethical and legal restrictions, clinical development and progression of stem cell therapies have been relatively slow 29 . Because adult stem cells are exempt from the aforementioned ethical and legal restrictions, while possessing excellent tissue repair capabilities, usage of adult stem cells has been more popular than embryonic or pluripotent stem cells in the clinic 30 . Accumulating studies have shown that stem cell therapy is becoming one of the emerging treatment strategies for several refractory diseases with no known treatments, including viral infections 31 .…”

Does the Global Outbreak of COVID-19 or Other Viral Diseases Threaten the Stem Cell Reservoir Inside the Body?

“…The virus is enveloped in a spherical nucleocapsid. The genomic pool of SARS-CoV-2 consists of + ssRNA in association with nucleoprotein inside a capsid shell [ 9 ]. At the external surface of the envelope, numerous projections (Spike proteins) and glycoproteins (hemagglutinin) are seen.…”

Modern World Applications for Nano-Bio Materials: Tissue Engineering and COVID-19

“…Given the severe onset of COVID-19 related tissue damage at a systemic level in extreme cases, the application of stem cell engineering to repair and regain organ functionality has been explored and adapted from other applications to quickly answer the need for potential therapeutic solutions (Ji et al, 2020). The usage of nano scaffolds based on biocompatible polymers for tissue engineering using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has thus emerged in articles as a promising experimental therapeutic option for patients at a critical stage to reduce inflammation, enhance immunomodulation and promote tissue repair back to a functional level (Esquivel et al, 2020). A summary of the potential uses of this technology is briefly discussed.…”