Why MSCs? MSCs display potent immunoregulatory and regenerative properties and have been successfully tested in clinical trials for a variety of disorders (e.g., graft vs host disease, respiratory diseases, sepsis and auto-inflammatory/auto-immune disorders). In respiratory illnesses, MSCs have been observed to exert a broad set of potential benefits;

• improving the lung microenvironment
• inhibiting immune system over-activation
• protecting lung epithelial cells
• promoting tissue repair
• preventing pulmonary fibrosis and/or
• improving lung function^[1].

A recently published study evaluated whether infusion of MSCs had a clinical benefit in patients with COVID-19.^[2]  In this study, 7 patients, with either critical (n=1), severe (n=4) or common (n=3) COVID-19-related symptoms, were infused with MSCs and monitored for 14 days.  Initially, all patients had high fever, weakness, shortness of breath and low oxygen saturation.  Two to four days after MSC administration, these symptoms had subsided.  Further, the administration of MSCs improved the inflammatory state in the COVID-19 patients.  By the end of the study, all patients with common and severe COVID-19 infections had recovered, while the critical patient had been discharged from the ICU with no more than common infection symptoms. The positive outcome of this study supports the notion that applications of MSCs in COVID-19 patients may lead to regulation of inflammatory responses while at the same time promote tissue repair and regeneration.

Several of the registered studies are investigating the effect of MSCs in patients with COVID-19, including 4 studies using cells derived fromUmbilical Cord Tissue.^[4]  Currently all but one of these trials are being conducted in China.  This will soon change however as Mesoblast, an Australian company, has announced its plan to evaluate its MSC product in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19 in the U.S, Australia, China and Europe.^[5]

Though it is still early, the promising results of MSC administration into patients with COVID-19 and the ongoing clinical trials allow us to be optimistic in this uncertain time.

[1] Hostettler et al (2017) PLoS One
[2] Leng et al (2020) Aging and Disease
[3] https://apps.who.int/trialsearch/
[4] Clinicaltrials.gov
[5] http://investorsmedia.mesoblast.com/static-files/c1428818-0b9f-44f9-bb4f-79ad518002cc