Tissue repair strategies: What we have learned from COVID-19 in the application of MSCs therapy

Yiran E Li; Amir Ajoolabady; Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran; Jun Ren

doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106334

Tissue repair strategies: What we have learned from COVID-19 in the application of MSCs therapy

Pharmacol Res. 2022 Aug:182:106334. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106334. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

Authors

Yiran E Li¹, Amir Ajoolabady¹, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran², Jun Ren³

Affiliations

¹ Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
² Department of Drug Discovery and Development, Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA. Electronic address: dhanamu@auburn.edu.
³ Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Electronic address: jren_aldh2@outlook.com.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection evokes severe proinflammatory storm and pulmonary infection with the number of confirmed cases (more than 200 million) and mortality (5 million) continue to surge globally. A number of vaccines (e.g., Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson/Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccines) have been developed over the past two years to restrain the rapid spread of COVID-19. However, without much of effective drug therapies, COVID-19 continues to cause multiple irreversible organ injuries and is drawing intensive attention for cell therapy in the management of organ damage in this devastating COVID-19 pandemic. For example, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have exhibited promising results in COVID-19 patients. Preclinical and clinical findings have favored the utility of stem cells in the management of COVID-19-induced adverse outcomes via inhibition of cytokine storm and hyperinflammatory syndrome with coinstantaneous tissue regeneration capacity. In this review, we will discuss the existing data with regards to application of stem cells for COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cytokine storm; MicroRNA; Organ damage; Stem cells.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / therapy
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy
Humans
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
Mesenchymal Stem Cells*
Pandemics