Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy for Novel Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) Patients.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are multipotent non-hematopoietic adult stem cells capable of paracrine mediated tissue repair and regeneration in diseased humans. More than 200 cytokines and growth factors produced by the MSCs trigger various cellular pathways required for maintaining or restoring or promoting health. Allogeneic MSCs isolated from abundant sources like bone marrow and adipose tissues are safe, scalable, and proven efficacious against many degenerative diseases often unmet medical needs. Novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is caused by acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), disease progression leading to severe acute respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which are the main causes of death in such patients. Based on the available literature, it is evident that MSCs, besides many other properties, also exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, qualifying them as an ideal candidate for the treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Since the inception of the disease in late 2019, a few clinical trials have been carried out on COVID-19 patients in different parts of the globe mainly measuring the mechanical free days, ICU free days and percent mortality up to 28 days upon infusion of various doses of MSC in comparison with the control arm. The overall early conclusion is that the intravenous infusion of MSCs is safe and offers highly significant benefit to COVID-19 patients. Despite several ongoing clinical studies, currently, there are no effective clinically tested and approved drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.