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A pilot study in China in which seven COVID-19 patients received intravenous infusions of donor mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) indicates that the intervention was safe, and that the approach may improve infection outcomes was reported in Aging and Disease last month. We understand that it is only a small number of cases, and studies in a larger cohort of patients are needed to validate these benefits.
The rationale for the Chinese pilot study was that MSCs may help to combat a cytokine storm. MSCs are multipotent cells found in various locations in the body including bone marrow, placenta, and umbilical cord that are reported to have immunodulatory abilities. There are other drugs in trials for tackling cytokine storms, including tocilizumab, which was recently approved in China and the US for the treatment of severe COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 infection can have vastly different outcomes—some infected individuals are symptom-free, others have a mild, flu-like illness, a smaller number of patients become critically ill, and some die. Unfortunately, the complications occurring in critically ill people manifest with multi organ involvement which all may or may not be linked to a cytokine storm. In addition, we should understand the right time to treat COVID19 infected people.
Unfortunately, scientists still need a lot of details to understand how COVID19 infection should be treated in a large population, how to identify people at risk of serious complications and the best time for treatment.
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