The Future of Stem Cells for the Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Coronaviruses Infections
Although only a limited number of MSC-based clinical trials have been completed to date, in a small number of COVID-19 patients, the prospects of using these cells in the clinical setting to treat and prevent COVID-19-induced lung damage appear promising. Successfully completed Phase I trials for the treatment of ARDS and emerging promising preliminary results from current trials will soon shed light on the effectiveness of MSCs for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. The proposed clinical study that aims to deliver MSC-derived exosomes via the inhalation route to COVID-19 patients (NCT04276987) will potentially be a paradigm shift. In the light of a recent study that demonstrated efficacy of inhaled stem cell-derived therapy in both ex vivo and animal models of pulmonary fibrosis (Dinh et al., 2020), the inhalation route due to advantages outlined above, may become more routinely investigated along with the conventional intravenous route. Importantly, regardless of the route of delivery and type of stem cells, larger-scale clinical trials strictly designed with the placebo arm and patient randomization are necessary to achieve successful stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of COVID-19.