Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Oct 1;11(5):1191-1201.
doi: 10.14336/AD.2020.0711. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Research progress on Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs), Drugs, and Vaccines in Inhibiting COVID-19 Disease

Pietro Gentile  1   2 , Aris Sterodimas  3 , Jacopo Pizzicannella  4 , Claudio Calabrese  5 , Simone Garcovich  6
Affiliations
Review

Research progress on Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs), Drugs, and Vaccines in Inhibiting COVID-19 Disease

Pietro Gentile et al. Aging Dis. .

Abstract

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), and Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs) have been used for many years in regenerative medicine for clinical and surgical applications. Additionally, recent studies reported improved respiratory activity after intravenous administration of MSCs into patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) suggesting their role as anti-viral therapy. Severe COVID-19 patients usually progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, metabolic acidosis that is difficult to correct, coagulation dysfunction, multiple organ failure, and even death in a short period after onset. Currently, there is still a lack of clinically effective drugs for such patients. The high secretory activity, the immune-modulatory effect, and the homing ability make MSCs and in particular AD-MSCs both a potential tool for the anti-viral drug-delivery in the virus microenvironment and potential cellular therapy. AD-MSCs as the most important exponent of MSCs are expected to reduce the risk of complications and death of patients due to their strong anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory capabilities, which can improve microenvironment, promote neovascularization and enhance tissue repair capabilities. In this literature review, the role of regenerative strategies through MSCs, AD-MSCs, and adipocyte-secreted exosomal microRNAs (A-SE-miRs) as a potential antiviral therapy was reported, comparing the results found with current research progress on drugs and vaccines in COVID-19 disease.

Keywords: Adipose Stem Cells; COVID-19; Coronavirus therapy; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; SARS-CoV-2; Stem Cell Therapy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) flow diagram.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Graphical illustration of the anti-viral activity of SVFs and AD-MSCs via intravenous infusion and aerosol administration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dominici M, Le Blanc K, Mueller I, et al. (2006). Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. The international society for cellular therapy position statement. Cytotherapy, 8:315-317. - PubMed
    1. Gentile P, Sterodimas A (2020). Adipose-derived stromal stem cells (ASCs) as a new regenerative immediate therapy combating coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced pneumonia. Expert Opin Biol Ther, 1-6 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Leng Z, Zhu R, Hou W, et al. (2020). Transplantation of ACE2-mesenchymal stem cells improves the outcome of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Aging Dis, 11:216-228. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Toyserkani NM, Jorgensen MG, Tabatabaeifar S, et al. (2017). Concise review: A safety assessment of adipose-derived cell therapy in clinical trials: A systematic review of reported adverse events. Stem Cells Trans Med, 6:1786-1794. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wu Z, McGoogan JM (2020). Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: Summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA, February 24. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources