The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the way of life worldwide and continues to bring high mortality rates to at-risk groups. Patients who develop severe COVID-19 pneumonia, often complicated with ARDS, are left with limited treatment options with no targeted therapy currently available. One of the features of COVID-19 is an overaggressive immune reaction that leads to multiorgan failure. Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) treatment has been in development for various clinical indications for over a decade, with a safe side effect profile and promising results in preclinical and clinical trials. Therefore, the use of MSCs in COVID-19-induced respiratory failure and ARDS was a logical step in order to find a potential treatment option for the most severe patients. In this review, the main characteristics of MSCs, their proposed mechanism of action in COVID-19 treatment and the effect of this therapy in published case reports and clinical trials are discussed.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, ARDS, Mesenchymal stromal cells, immunomodulation, MSCs, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, Severe COVID-19 pneumonia, clinical trial, therapy, Respiratory failure, COVID-19 pandemic, clinical trials, Case report, Characteristics, targeted therapy, mechanism of action, MSC, Safe, stromal cell, Side effect, severe patients, potential treatment option, indication, multiorgan failure, high mortality rate, immune reaction, feature, develop, significantly, groups, impacted, 【제목키워드】 option, Potential,