Currently, cell-based therapy and especially stem cell therapy has become a promising therapeutic field, in which many see opportunities to cure incurable diseases. Severe respiratory consequences of the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, have prompted urgent need for novel therapies.
Cell-based approaches, primarily using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have demonstrated safety and efficacy in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) - common manifestation of cytokine storms, and the cause of death in many COVID-19 patients.
Mesenchymal stem cells are a powerful immunomodulator, they secrete many anti-inflammatory biologically active substances (cytokines) that reduce the inflammatory process in the lungs. Also mesenchymal stem cells secrete numerous growth factors that contribute to the recovery of not only the affected lung tissue but also other organs.
