The Rising Popularity Of Stem Cell Therapy For Covid-19 Patients
The end of the year 2019 marked the start of a new challenge for humanity when numerous cases of severe respiratory diseases were testified in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, China. The cases were earlier muddled with regular flu and thought to be instigated by the normal periodic influenza virus. The precise prognosis of the disease was very challenging to make in the start but was simultaneously recognized to be a virus-borne ailment. Because of the snowballing severity in the following days, on January 1, the virus was professed novel. The eruption of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) worldwide is becoming speedily a chief concern. The number of severe cases has amplified dramatically universally, while particular treatment alternatives are rare. The chief pathologic features of severe or critical COVID-19 were consistent with acute lung injure (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), categorized by cellular fibromyxoid exudates, extensive pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary edema and hyaline membrane formation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can balance the inflammatory reaction and has been mentioned to be effective on ALI/ARDS from both infectious and noninfectious reasons formerly, presenting an imperative chance to be applied to COVID-19. MSCs have been recognized to resourcefully treat ALI/ARDS from both infectious and noninfectious causes, intermediated principally by paracrine mechanisms centered on the released extracellular vesicles (EVs), like microvesicles and exosomes. Comprehensive, MSCs can vary the behavior of both adaptive and innate immune cells. They can release keratinocyte growth factor, prostaglandin E2, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and IL-6 and IL-13 to facilitate the phagocytosis and alternate activation of alveolar macrophage, modify the cytokine secretion profile of dendritic cell subsets, and reduce the release of interferon γ from natural killer cells.
Maximum of the seriously sick and dead patients do not develop any severe clinical manifestations in the initial phases of COVID-19. The commonly testified signs are cough, throat pain, mild/high fever, muscle soreness or body ache. A sudden decline in the health condition of the patients is seen in the later phases of sicknesses evolution. Speedy failure of multiple organs and ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) leads to demise within a very short period of time. Cytokine storm has been specified as the presumable causal aspect for ARDS and multiple organ failure. SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) and SARS-2003 both have a similar mechanism of infection, i.e., binding the spike protein on the viral surface to the ACE2 receptors on the host cell surface. The devastating cytokine explosion accredited to the SARS-CoV-2 infection results to severe shock, oedema and multiple organ failure. Administering the COVID-19 patients with a portion of multipotent MSCs can help to fight the COVID-19 as these cells will impede the exaggerated immune reaction and encourage endogenous overhaul of the lung epithelial cells. The stem cell therapy for covid-19 patients does not have any hostile side-effects on the patient.
Why mesenchymal stem cells?
Currently, cell-based therapy, and in particular, stem cell therapy has proven itself to be one of the most assuring therapeutic methodologies that offer opportunities to treat numerous ailments that were considered irrepressible earlier. MSC therapy is favored over other therapeutic approaches because they are free of ethical and social concerns; they have a high proliferation rate and a low invasive nature. Mesenchymal cells can be gotten from numerous sources, including adipose tissues, dental pulp, bone marrow, umbilical cord, fetal liver, menstrual blood, etc. MSCs can also be isolated from numerous adult tissues such as the infrapatellar fat pad, belly fat pad and tissues linked with neonates such as placenta, Wharton’s jelly, cord blood and amniotic fluid. These stem cells are multipotent (i.e., having several fates). Storing of mesenchymal cells can be done so that they can be repeatedly used for therapeutic purposes as they inflate to volume in an appropriate and short period of time. So far, the clinical trials of mesenchymal stem cells have not shown any hostile reaction towards the allogeneic MSCs. The effectiveness and security of the MSCs have been recognized in several clinical trials splendidly.
Therapeutic accomplishments
Significant reversal of severe COVID-19 symptoms even in critical condition was testified in two clinical studies conducted in China. These clinical studies revealed a novel therapeutic strategy and also prevailing natural mechanism counterattacking acute inflammatory pneumonia. COVID-19 triggers an overstated immune reaction in the body by producing huge quantities of numerous inflammatory factors including numerous cytokines, chemokines and immune reactive cells. It can be hypothesized that the MSC therapy may avert the activating of cytokine storm by the activated immune system and the reparative properties of the stem cells may encourage endogenous repair. Mesenchymal stem cells when intravenously inserted will result in some portion of the population getting ensnared in the lungs. While ensnared within the lungs, a catholic variety of soluble mediators, including antimicrobial peptides, extracellular vesicles, anti-inflammatory cytokines and angiogenic growth factors are released by the MSCs.