Mesenchymal stem cells as a potential treatment for critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019

作者：Fanpu Ji, Liya Li, Zongfang Li, Yan Jin, Wenjia Liu · 发表于：Stem Cells Translational Medicine · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1002/sctm.20-0083 · 被引用次数：37 · 研究领域：Mesenchymal stem cell research、Long-Term Effects of COVID-19、Respiratory Support and Mechanisms

To the Editor, We read with interest the article by Abraham and Krasnodembskaya regarding mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived extracellular vesicles for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).1 Since December 2019, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, has drawn worldwide attention. As of February 26, 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had infected more than 82 000 people and had led to 2800 deaths from acute lung injury (ALI) and ARDS worldwide. Unfortunately, the numbers of both infected patients and fatalities are still growing and no effective drugs are clinically approved. Similar to two other lethal coronaviruses, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 induces excessive and aberrant host immune responses that are always accompanied by cytokine storms (CS) and subsequent ALI or even ARDS, resulting in multiple organ failure and death.2 Even in patients who were treated in intensive care units for CS, persistent inflammation led to serious sequelae of lung fibrosis, causing lung dysfunction and reduced quality of life.3 Although corticosteroid given to reverse catabolism in critical illness decreased the mortality after SARS and MERS infection, the clinical application of corticosteroid has been restricted in COVID-19, considering its delay in virus clearance and complications in survivors. There is an urgent need for advancing therapeutic interventions with both functions for CS suppression ...