ABSTRACT

Since the first reported case, a new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which was thought to be detected first in Wuhan, China, has transformed into a pandemic in a very short time and has been affecting globally. The virus caused an infectious disease called COVID-19 and has infected more than 250 million people so far. Also, it has been observed that in the case of high viral load, due to the cytokine storm the acute respiratory tract disorder (ARDS), pulmonary fibrosis, and even multiple organ failure can be observed in patients. The in vitro and preclinical studies with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) revealed the MSCs are not only capable of regeneration but also have an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory potential. Therefore, scientists offered to use MSC as an alternative for conventional drug or plasma-based therapies in COVID-19 treatment as a regenerative hope. Without any severe side effects as in drug-based applications, MSC therapy can provide an immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effect and hamper the scenarios for ARDS, pulmonary fibrosis, sepsis development, and multiple organ failure. Moreover, due to its regenerative nature, it is predicted that the repair of the damaged tissue can be achieved with MSC therapy as well. However, for the clinical applications, the MSC treatments should be standardized for COVID-19 treatment with detailed studies to improve the success of the treatment and patient safety. In this review, we have mainly focused on the MSC applications for COVID-19 treatment. In the text, following the brief explanation of the SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, the vaccine studies and post-infection therapies are summarized, then the promising MSC applications for COVID-19 treatment, the role of MSCs, the mechanism of action, the application safety, and ethics are discussed.