Chinese Scientists Found Stem Cells Useful in Dealing with COVID-19

Abstract: An ongoing outbreak of a novel coronavirus has raised global concerns, and scientists from China found that stem cells might be an efficient treatment.

Public health officials are sounding the alarm as an outbreak of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) that began in Wuhan, China has been identified in a growing number of other international locations, including the United States. There are two main reasons why this kind of viral pneumonia is difficult to treat. One is that there are no specific drugs, and the other is that the immune system of patients is dysfunctional.

On February 15, 2020, at the press conference of Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council of China, the person in charge mentioned that scientific researchers are actively conducting clinical research on stem cell technology in critical care. According to experts, stem cell therapy can suppress the excessive activation of the immune system, promote endogenous repair by improving the microenvironment and inhibit the progress of lung inflammation.

Stem cells are a type of pluripotent cells with self-replication ability and multi-directional differentiation potential. They are the seed cells of the human body and are called "universal cells". They have certain therapeutic effects on immune system and nervous system diseases such as congenital cataract, cerebral palsy, diabetes, myocardial infarction, osteoarthritis and so on.

Stem cells, especially mesenchymal stem cells, are effective in the treatment of COVID-19 mainly in two aspects. Firstly, through the immune regulation function, they suppress the excessive activation of the immune system, inhibit the inflammatory response, and at the same time improve the body's immunity and enhance its ability to resist viruses. Secondly, through repair function, they can improve the microenvironment, promote endogenous repair, repair lung damage, and relieve respiratory distress symptoms.

Exogenous-imported mesenchymal stem cells can migrate to lung tissue, aggregate at the site of injury, and differentiate into specific cells. Mesenchymal stem cells can also be the precursor cell type of blood vessels, which have certain effects on microvascular remodeling and anti-oxidative stress in lung tissue.

Among the COVID-19 patients, some severe patients may suffer respiratory failure and severely impaired lung function, which is difficult to treat clinically for patients may die or have sequelae. In terms of how to repair the lung function of these people, various differentiation functions of stem cells can be used.

As early as February 3, Li Lanjuan, an expert group member of the National Health and Medical Commission of China said, “for the enhancement of immune function, we want to try out stem cells. We have used this therapy dealing with H7N9 and found it has a good effect, so we also want to apply it in rescue here. "

However, the effectiveness and safety of this technology in COVID-19 patients remains to be seen and studied. In the process of treating a class of diseases with stem cells, animal experiments must be conducted first, then preclinical research, and then clinical research. Only after it has been fully evaluated to ensure its effectiveness and safety can it be used on a large scale. This process takes a relatively long time about one year or two.

"We all look forward to the emergence of a new drug for COVID-19. But science cannot lower its standard, so we must make sure the drug is safe to use in accordance with the drug development process." Commented by a senior scientist from Creative Biolabs, a leading company focusing on a widely range of exosome-related services and products.