间充质干细胞在2019新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)中的治疗潜能、临床研究与应用前景*

当前因SARS-CoV-2感染而引起的2019新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)肆虐全球,严重危害人类健康。SARS-CoV-2感染性强,危重症患者死亡率高,尽管各种各样的治疗正在进行临床试验,但目前尚无有效的治疗方法。间充质干细胞(mesenchymal stem cell,MSC)在临床前试验中对多种疾病有良好的治疗效果,因而受到了广泛地关注。MSC可能利用分化潜能诱导分化成功能性肺样细胞、免疫调节与免疫细胞互作、抑制炎症来降低促炎细胞因子分泌、迁移和归巢靶向损伤肺部、抗病毒作用来减少肺上皮细胞中的病毒复制、产生细胞外囊泡来修复受损的组织,进而使COVID-19患者肺功能逐渐恢复正常,缓解并达到治疗COVID-19的目的。综合讨论了COVID-19的基本特征和当前主要治疗手段,同时总结了MSC在COVID-19中的临床研究和当前面临的挑战,探讨了MSC治疗COVID-19的应用前景,为MSC在COVID-19中的治疗提供了理论基础和现实依据。

Therapeutic Potentials,Clinical Studies,and Application Prospects of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Currently, the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is raging around the world and seriously affects human health. SARS-CoV-2 is highly infectious, and the mortality rate of infected severe patients is high. Although various methods are being tried for clinical trials, no authorised effective treatment is available. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have attracted wide attention in preclinical trials because they have a good therapeutic effect on a variety of human diseases. MSC may use differentiation potential to induce differentiation into functional pulmonary-like cells, immune regulation interacted with various immune cells, inhibit inflammation to reduce the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, migration and homing to damaged lung, antiviral effects through reduce virus replication in lung epithelial cells, and produces extracellular vesicles to repair damaged tissues, thereby gradually recovering the lung function of COVID-19 patients, alleviating and achieving the goal for treating COVID-19. The basic characteristics of COVID-19 and the current main treatment methods of COVID-19 are comprehensively discussed. At the same time, the clinical research and current challenges are analyzed. In addition, the application prospects of MSC for treating COVID-19 are also discussed. In summary, the research provides a theoretical and practical basis for MSC in the treatment of COVID-19.