Novel Stem Cells and Nucleic Acid-Based Vaccine Trials Against Viral Outbreak: A Systematic Evaluation During COVID-2019 Pandemic

Mesenchymal Stem Cells and COVID-19: Cure, Prevention, and Vaccination

COVID-19 disease has been a global health problem since late 2019. There are many concerns about the rapid spread of this disease, and yet, there is no approved treatment for COVID-19. Several biological interventions have been under study recently to investigate efficient treatment for this viral disease. Besides, many efforts have been made to find a safe way to prevent and vaccinate people against COVID-19 disease. In severe cases, patients suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome usually associated with an increased level of inflammatory cytokines, called a cytokine storm. It seems that reequilibrating the hyperinflammatory response of the host immune system and regeneration of damaged cells could be the main way to manage the disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been recently under investigation in this regard, and the achieved clinical outcomes show promising evidence for stem cell-based therapy of COVID-19. MSCs are known for their potential for immunomodulation, defense against virus infection, and tissue regeneration. MSCs are a newly emerged platform for designing vaccines and show promising evidence in this area. In the present study, we provided a thorough research study on the most recent clinical studies based on stem cells in the treatment of COVID-19 while introducing stem cell exclusivities for use as an immune disorder or lung cell therapy and its potential application for protection and vaccination against COVID-19.

Stem Cell Therapy Potency in Personalizing Severe COVID-19 Treatment

Currently, there are no specific and efficient vaccines or drugs for COVID-19, particularly in severe cases. A wide range of variations in the clinical symptoms of different patients attributed to genomic differences. Therefore, personalized treatments seem to play a critical role in improving these symptoms and even similar conditions. Prompted by the uncertainties in the area of COVID-19 therapies, we reviewed the published papers and concepts to gather and provide useful information to clinicians and researchers interested in personalized medicine and cell-based therapy. One novel aspect of this study focuses on the potential application of personalized medicine in treating severe cases of COVID-19. However, it is theoretical, as any real-world examples of the use of genuinely personalized medicine have not existed yet. Nevertheless, we know that stem cells, especially MSCs, have immune-modulatory effects and can be stored for future personalized medicine applications. This theory has been conjugated with some evidence that we review in the present study. Besides, we discuss the importance of personalized medicine and its possible aspects in COVID-19 treatment, then review the cell-based therapy studies for COVID-19 with a particular focus on stem cell-based therapies as a primary personalized tool medicine. However, the idea of cell-based therapy has not been accepted by several scientific communities due to some concerns of lack of satisfactory clinical studies; still, the MSCs and their clinical outcomes have been revealed the safety and potency of this therapeutic approach in several diseases, especially in the immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and some incurable diseases. Promising outcomes have resulted in that clinical studies are going to continue.

Recent Advances in Pathophysiology, Drug Development and Future Perspectives of SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is a rapidly transmitting and highly pathogenic disease. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the surface of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptors along the upper respiratory tract and intestinal epithelial cells. SARS-CoV-2 patients develop acute respiratory distress, lymphocytic myocarditis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, lymphocytic infiltration, and other serious complications. A SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis is conducted using quantitative reverse-transcription PCR and computed tomography (CT) imaging. In addition, IgM or IgG antibodies are used to identify acute and convalescent illness. Recent clinical data have been generated by health workers and researchers and have shown that there is an urgent requirement in the effective clinical and treatment of patients, as well as other developments for dealing with SARS-CoV-2 infection. A broad spectrum of clinical trials of different vaccines and drug treatment has been evaluated for use against SARS-CoV-2. This review includes the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia as a way to recognize and eliminate any barriers that affect rapid patient care and public health management against the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic based on the natural history of the disease, its transmission, pathogenesis, immune response, epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical presentation, possible treatment, drug and vaccine development, prevention, and future perspective.