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Wang Z, Wang C, Fei X, Wu H, Niu P, Shen C. Thymalfasin therapy accelerates COVID-19 pneumonia rehabilitation through anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Pneumonia (Nathan) 2023; 15:14. [PMID: 37743481 PMCID: PMC10518946 DOI: 10.1186/s41479-023-00116-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Thymosin drugs are commonly used for the treatment of viral infections due to their immunomodulatory effects. The comprehensive clinical efficacy of Thymalfasin therapy for COVID-19 associated pneumonia is not yet fully researched, another issue, whether the use of thymosin drugs can reduce the rate of COVID-19 progression to severe pneumonia has not been well documented. The aim of the present study was to multi-angle evaluate the clinical efficacy of Thymalfasin therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia by retrospective review of the clinical data of 338 inpatients with common COVID-19 infection who received treatment in our hospital. METHODS The primary index of observation was whether progression to severe pneumonia occurred within a week after admission, and the secondary indexes were the length of hospital stay, time of negative conversion of COVID-19 antigen, the number of peripheral lymphocytes and white blood cells (WBC), and C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) levels,and the control of pneumonia related symptoms, for example, fever, listlessness, inflammatory exudate area shown on lung CT (%). RESULTS The length of hospital stay of patients in Thymalfasin group was significantly shorter than that of patients in the control group (p < 0.01). The proportion of relief of pneumonia related symptoms (fever, fatigue) in the Thymalfasin therapy group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the inflammatory exudate area shown on CT was significantly lower than that in the control group (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the use of Thymalfasin was an independent protective factor affecting the progression to severe pneumonia. Multifactorial Cox model analysis indicated that negative conversion of COVID-19 antigen was significantly faster in patients using Thymalfasin and younger patients. CONCLUSION Thymalfasin therapy has shown excellent clinical efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia, it can reduce inflammatory reactions, promote the relief of COVID-19 pneumonia related symptoms such as fever and fatigue, facilitate effusion absorption, and accelerate COVID-19 pneumonia recovery. Thymalfasin can prevent progression of common COVID-19 infection to severe pneumonia via multiple immunity-enhancing and anti-inflammatory protective mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zirui Wang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Medicine, the Fifth People's Hospital of Wujiang District, Suzhou, 215211, JS, China
| | - Cong Wang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Medicine, the Fifth People's Hospital of Wujiang District, Suzhou, 215211, JS, China
| | - Xiaohua Fei
- Information Centre, the Fifth People's Hospital of Wujiang District, Suzhou, 215211, JS, China
| | - Haixing Wu
- Department of Pharmacy, the Fifth People's Hospital of Wujiang District, Suzhou, 215211, JS, China
| | - Peiqin Niu
- Department of Medical Record Statistics, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200072, China.
| | - Changxing Shen
- Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 200072, Shanghai, China.
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Xue Y, Mei H, Chen Y, Griffin JD, Liu Q, Weisberg E, Yang J. Repurposing clinically available drugs and therapies for pathogenic targets to combat SARS-CoV-2. MedComm (Beijing) 2023; 4:e254. [PMID: 37193304 PMCID: PMC10183156 DOI: 10.1002/mco2.254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected a large portion of the global population, both physically and mentally. Current evidence suggests that the rapidly evolving coronavirus subvariants risk rendering vaccines and antibodies ineffective due to their potential to evade existing immunity, with enhanced transmission activity and higher reinfection rates that could lead to new outbreaks across the globe. The goal of viral management is to disrupt the viral life cycle as well as to relieve severe symptoms such as lung damage, cytokine storm, and organ failure. In the fight against viruses, the combination of viral genome sequencing, elucidation of the structure of viral proteins, and identifying proteins that are highly conserved across multiple coronaviruses has revealed many potential molecular targets. In addition, the time- and cost-effective repurposing of preexisting antiviral drugs or approved/clinical drugs for these targets offers considerable clinical advantages for COVID-19 patients. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various identified pathogenic targets and pathways as well as corresponding repurposed approved/clinical drugs and their potential against COVID-19. These findings provide new insight into the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies that could be applied to the control of disease symptoms emanating from evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiying Xue
- Department of Hematology, Tongji Hospital, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Sciences and TechnologyTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Husheng Mei
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesHefeiChina
- University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefeiAnhuiChina
| | - Yisa Chen
- Department of Hematology, Tongji Hospital, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Sciences and TechnologyTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - James D. Griffin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana‐Farber Cancer InstituteBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Qingsong Liu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesHefeiChina
- University of Science and Technology of ChinaHefeiAnhuiChina
- Hefei Cancer HospitalChinese Academy of SciencesHefeiChina
| | - Ellen Weisberg
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana‐Farber Cancer InstituteBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Hematology, Tongji Hospital, Frontier Science Center for Stem Cell Research, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Sciences and TechnologyTongji UniversityShanghaiChina
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Technology, Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical ScienceChinese Academy of SciencesHefeiChina
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Hussein MAA, Hussein HAM, Thabet AA, Selim KM, Dawood MA, El-Adly AM, Wardany AA, Sobhy A, Magdeldin S, Osama A, Anwar AM, Abdel-Wahab M, Askar H, Bakhiet EK, Sultan S, Ezzat AA, Abdel Raouf U, Afifi MM. Human Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells Secretome Inhibits Human SARS-CoV-2 and Avian Infectious Bronchitis Coronaviruses. Cells 2022; 11:1408. [PMID: 35563714 PMCID: PMC9101656 DOI: 10.3390/cells11091408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Human SARS-CoV-2 and avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) are highly contagious and deadly coronaviruses, causing devastating respiratory diseases in humans and chickens. The lack of effective therapeutics exacerbates the impact of outbreaks associated with SARS-CoV-2 and IBV infections. Thus, novel drugs or therapeutic agents are highly in demand for controlling viral transmission and disease progression. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) secreted factors (secretome) are safe and efficient alternatives to stem cells in MSC-based therapies. This study aimed to investigate the antiviral potentials of human Wharton’s jelly MSC secretome (hWJ-MSC-S) against SARS-CoV-2 and IBV infections in vitro and in ovo. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50), cytotoxic concentration (CC50), and selective index (SI) values of hWJ-MSC-S were determined using Vero-E6 cells. The virucidal, anti-adsorption, and anti-replication antiviral mechanisms of hWJ-MSC-S were evaluated. The hWJ-MSC-S significantly inhibited infection of SARS-CoV-2 and IBV, without affecting the viability of cells and embryos. Interestingly, hWJ-MSC-S reduced viral infection by >90%, in vitro. The IC50 and SI of hWJ-MSC secretome against SARS-CoV-2 were 166.6 and 235.29 µg/mL, respectively, while for IBV, IC50 and SI were 439.9 and 89.11 µg/mL, respectively. The virucidal and anti-replication antiviral effects of hWJ-MSC-S were very prominent compared to the anti-adsorption effect. In the in ovo model, hWJ-MSC-S reduced IBV titer by >99%. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) analysis of hWJ-MSC-S revealed a significant enrichment of immunomodulatory and antiviral proteins. Collectively, our results not only uncovered the antiviral potency of hWJ-MSC-S against SARS-CoV-2 and IBV, but also described the mechanism by which hWJ-MSC-S inhibits viral infection. These findings indicate that hWJ-MSC-S could be utilized in future pre-clinical and clinical studies to develop effective therapeutic approaches against human COVID-19 and avian IB respiratory diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A. A. Hussein
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
| | - Hosni A. M. Hussein
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
| | - Ali A. Thabet
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (A.A.T.); (M.A.-W.); (H.A.)
| | - Karim M. Selim
- Reference Laboratory for Veterinary Quality Control on Poultry Production, Animal Health Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza 12618, Egypt;
| | - Mervat A. Dawood
- Clinical Pathology, Mansoura Research Center for Cord Stem Cells (MARC-CSC), Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, El Mansoura 35516, Egypt;
| | - Ahmed M. El-Adly
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
| | - Ahmed A. Wardany
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
| | - Ali Sobhy
- Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt;
| | - Sameh Magdeldin
- Proteomics and Metabolomics Research Program, Basic Research Department, Children’s Cancer Hospital, (CCHE-57357), Cairo 57357, Egypt; (S.M.); (A.O.); (A.M.A.)
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
| | - Aya Osama
- Proteomics and Metabolomics Research Program, Basic Research Department, Children’s Cancer Hospital, (CCHE-57357), Cairo 57357, Egypt; (S.M.); (A.O.); (A.M.A.)
| | - Ali M. Anwar
- Proteomics and Metabolomics Research Program, Basic Research Department, Children’s Cancer Hospital, (CCHE-57357), Cairo 57357, Egypt; (S.M.); (A.O.); (A.M.A.)
| | - Mohammed Abdel-Wahab
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (A.A.T.); (M.A.-W.); (H.A.)
| | - Hussam Askar
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (A.A.T.); (M.A.-W.); (H.A.)
| | - Elsayed K. Bakhiet
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
| | - Serageldeen Sultan
- Department of Microbiology, Virology Division, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt;
| | - Amgad A. Ezzat
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt;
| | - Usama Abdel Raouf
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt;
| | - Magdy M. Afifi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524, Egypt; (M.A.A.H.); (A.M.E.-A.); (A.A.W.); (E.K.B.); (M.M.A.)
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