"Mesenchymal stem cells” have a chance to treat Covid-19!
Covid-19 has been raging around the world for several months, and countries are accelerating the development of effective vaccines, antibodies and drugs. Recently, there are research teams in Taiwan and internationally using "mesenchymal stem cells" to treat Covid-19, and the treated cases have shown significant therapeutic effects and research papers have been published in international journals.
A study published in the February 2020 issue of Aging and Disease reveals that "mesenchymal stem cell" transplants are effective in circumventing immune storms and significantly improving the prognosis of patients with severe Covid-19. The trial involved intravenous "mesenchymal stem cell" injections in seven patients with Covid-19. Before MSC transplantation, the main symptoms of patients were fever (38.5°C ± 0.5°C), weakness, shortness of breath, and low oxygen saturation, all of which disappeared 2 to 4 days after transplantation. In addition, there were no acute infusion-related reactions or allergic reactions within 2 hours after transplantation. Also, there was no delayed hypersensitivity and no secondary infection after treatment. The results of the cytometric analysis showed that most cell counts returned to normal range after treatment, with significant improvements in several blood test indices and indicators in critically ill patients. The above test parameters indicate that the inflammatory state of the patient was rapidly resolved and the alveoli recovered after "mesenchymal stem cell" transplants.
In addition, unlike influenza, Covid-19 attacks the small bronchi of the lower respiratory tract and the alveoli of the lungs. Recently, the first case in Taiwan was discharged from the hospital with no virus in the body, but with SARS-like "pulmonary fibrosis", which will take time to recover. Pulmonary fibrosis is commonly referred to as "scouring pad lung". On imaging, the lungs appear like dried scouring pad with strands of fibers that are thick, stiff and inflexible, and therefore unable to breathe air into the lungs. Since the lungs of patients with pulmonary fibrosis are constantly inflamed and fibrotic, the first priority of treatment is to stop the deterioration.
The research teams at National Yang-Ming University, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital found that the "mesenchymal stem cells" in the human umbilical cord not only stop inflammation from worsening, but also activate macrophages in the body, eat up scarred tissue, clear space in the lungs, and allow alveoli to regenerate and fill in space, making the hard, rough scouring pad lungs soft again. The research team transplanted this special "mesenchymal stem cells" into mice, and the mice's lungs, which had almost completely atrophied, showed remarkable recovery in just 7 days and almost restored their lung function after 1 month. The results of the study have been published in the September 2019 issue of the international journal Theranostics and will be further tested in human subjects in the future.
"Mesenchymal stem cells" can be obtained from bone marrow, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord, etc. In addition to the regenerative and repair functions of ordinary stem cells, they have a special feature [immunomodulation to suppress inflammation]. In 2007, the international journal IJBM published a paper demonstrating that "mesenchymal stem cells" have a significant immunosuppressive effect, for example, in avoiding rejection of the body during organ transplantation. In fact, the most frightening thing about Covid-19 is not the virus itself, just like SARS, what really fatal is the immune storm that the virus induces in the body!
A moderate inflammatory response is beneficial to the body in removing pathogens, but an excessive inflammatory response triggers the production of large amounts of cytokines resulting in an "immune storm" (also known as a cytokine storm). This uncontrolled immune response means that the body's immune system is "overly defensive", triggering an inflammatory response that causes microvascular dilatation and increased vascular permeability, resulting in swelling, redness, fever, tingling, and itching, often leading to organ damage and failure and then to shock, and in severe cases, death within a few hours.
"Mesenchymal stem cells" inhibit the inappropriate proliferation of immune cells and reduce the production of cytokines by immune cells, making them a key tool to effectively suppress the immune response. From the recent research, the powerful differentiation ability of "mesenchymal stem cells" has been demonstrated. In addition to Covid-19 and pulmonary fibrosis, "mesenchymal stem cells" are expected to be applied to the treatment of stroke, Parkinson's disease, myocardial infarction, acute renal failure, urinary incontinence, bone repair and other diseases. "Mesenchymal stem cells" have become a favorite in the cellular industry in recent years because of their wide variety of sources and ease of collection and storage.
Reference:
《Aging and Disease》Transplantation of ACE2- mesenchymal stem cells improves the outcome of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia http://www.aginganddisease.org/EN/10.14336/AD.2020.0228
《Theranostics》Reversal of bleomycin-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis by a xenograft 3 of human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells from Wharton’s jelly https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31588241
《IJBM》The Immune Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614633/