scholarly journals When stem cells meet COVID-19: recent advances, challenges and future perspectives

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shasha Li ◽  
Hecheng Zhu ◽  
Ming Zhao ◽  
Weidong Liu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 is currently spreading throughout the world with a high rate of infection and mortality and poses a huge threat to global public health. COVID-19 primarily manifests as hypoxic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can lead to multiple organ failure. Despite advances in the supportive care approaches, there is still a lack of clinically effective therapies, and there is an urgent need to develop novel strategies to fight this disease. Currently, stem cell therapy and stem cell-derived organoid models have received extensive attention as a new treatment and research method for COVID-19. Here, we discuss how stem cells play a role in the battle against COVID-19 and present a systematic review and prospective of the study on stem cell treatment and organoid models of COVID-19, which provides a reference for the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakan Orbay ◽  
Hiroshi Mizuno

Neuromuscular diseases are a heterogeneous group of diseases that lead to significant disability in effected individuals. Pharmacological treatments failed to provide any significant improvement to date. Recently, the introduction of stem cells into the field of health sciences raised the hopes for a new treatment for neuromuscular diseases. In theory, stem cells, owing to their multilineage differentiation capacity, could differentiate into myofibers and neurons and replace the degenerated cells leading to recovery of the patients. Results obtained from the preclinical studies supported this theory. However, clinical trials with stem cells could not meet the expectations mainly because of early mortality, limited migration, and differentiation of the implanted cells. Modification of the stem cells before implantation, such as introduction of deficient genes or commitment to a precursor cell line provided little improvement. The biggest barrier to overcome for a successful of stem cell treatment, which also should be the focus of the future studies, is to increase the functional integration of the donor cells with the recipient tissues. Understanding the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of the neuromuscular diseases is essential to achieve this goal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
Lang Wang ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Maorui Zhang ◽  
Kui Huang ◽  
Shuanglin Peng ◽  
...  

Adipose-derived stem cells are adult stem cells which are easy to obtain and multi-potent. Stem-cell therapy has become a promising new treatment for many diseases, and plays an increasingly important role in the field of tissue repair, regeneration and reconstruction. The physicochemical properties of the extracellular microenvironment contribute to the regulation of the fate of stem cells. Nanomaterials have stable particle size, large specific surface area and good biocompatibility, which has led them being recognized as having broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine. In this paper, we review recent developments of nanomaterials in adipose-derived stem cell research. Taken together, the current literature indicates that nanomaterials can regulate the proliferation and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells. However, the properties and regulatory effects of nanomaterials can vary widely depending on their composition. This review aims to provide a comprehensive guide for future stem-cell research on the use of nanomaterials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Li ◽  
Qi-lin Jiang ◽  
Leanne Van der Merwe ◽  
Dong-hao Lou ◽  
Cai Lin

Abstract Background A skin flap is one of the most critical surgical techniques for the restoration of cutaneous defects. However, the distal necrosis of the skin flap severely restricts the clinical application of flap surgery. As there is no consensus on the treatment methods to prevent distal necrosis of skin flaps, more effective and feasible interventions to prevent skin flaps from necrosis are urgently needed. Stem therapy as a potential method to improve the survival rate of skin flaps is receiving increasing attention. Methods This review followed the recommendations from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements. Twenty studies with 500 animals were included by searching Web of Science, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases, up until October 8, 2020. Moreover, the references of the included articles were searched manually to obtain other studies. All analyses were conducted using Review Manager V.5.3 software. Results Meta-analysis of all 20 studies demonstrated stem cell treatment has significant effects on reducing necrosis of skin flap compared with the control group (SMD: 3.20, 95% CI 2.47 to 3.93). Besides, subgroup analysis showed differences in the efficacy of stem cells in improving the survival rate of skin flaps in areas of skin flap, cell type, transplant types, and method of administration of stem cells. The meta-analysis also showed that stem cell treatment had a significant effect on increasing blood vessel density (SMD: 2.96, 95% CI 2.21 to 3.72) and increasing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, SMD: 4.34, 95% CI 2.48 to 6.1). Conclusions The preclinical evidence of our systematic review indicate that stem cell-based therapy is effective for promoting early angiogenesis by up regulating VEGF and ultimately improving the survival rate of skin flap. In summary, small area skin flap, the administration method of intra-arterial injection, ASCs and MSCs, and xenogenic stem cells from humans showed more effective for the survival of animal skin flaps. In general, stem cell-based therapy may be a promising method to prevent skin flap necrosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1824
Author(s):  
Matthias Mietsch ◽  
Rabea Hinkel

With cardiovascular diseases affecting millions of patients, new treatment strategies are urgently needed. The use of stem cell based approaches has been investigated during the last decades and promising effects have been achieved. However, the beneficial effect of stem cells has been found to being partly due to paracrine functions by alterations of their microenvironment and so an interesting field of research, the “stem- less” approaches has emerged over the last years using or altering the microenvironment, for example, via deletion of senescent cells, application of micro RNAs or by modifying the cellular energy metabolism via targeting mitochondria. Using autologous muscle-derived mitochondria for transplantations into the affected tissues has resulted in promising reports of improvements of cardiac functions in vitro and in vivo. However, since the targeted treatment group represents mainly elderly or otherwise sick patients, it is unclear whether and to what extent autologous mitochondria would exert their beneficial effects in these cases. Stem cells might represent better sources for mitochondria and could enhance the effect of mitochondrial transplantations. Therefore in this review we aim to provide an overview on aging effects of stem cells and mitochondria which might be important for mitochondrial transplantation and to give an overview on the current state in this field together with considerations worthwhile for further investigations.


Author(s):  
Leelavathy Budamakuntla ◽  
Eswari Loganathan ◽  
Shwetha Suryanarayana ◽  
Aparna Dongre

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Androgenetic alopecia has been a stressful condition for the patients and treating dermatologists alike. With the advent of stem cell therapy in various diseases, and lot of controversies and ethical issues related to it, mesenchymal stem cells MSC have passed the acid test successfully, though with many challenges. Since the stem cells in the hair follicle bulge and the dermal papilla play an important role in hair cycle and growth, introducing an external source of neonatal mesenchymal stem cells seems to be a possibility in the treatment of AGA. Aims: To know the benefits and safety of stem cell treatment in patients who underwent mesotherapy with neonatal MSC in order to establish the safety and efficacy in the treatment of AGA.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> We collected data of 40 patients treated with mesoinjections of commercially prepared neonatal MSC, with AGA of grade 2 to 7. Before and after photographs, Patient (PtGA) and Physician (PGA) Global assessment scores were used to evaluate the treatment response.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> We found that 70% of the patients showed a mild response and 25% of them showed a moderate improvement in the hair growth and reduction in hair loss after 4 sittings of monthly duration. One subject showed an improvement of 72%. Patients had 6 month follow up. No major adverse events were observed.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Since this is an observational study, large randomized controlled studies, with longer follow ups is recommended to make MSC therapy a novel treatment option for AGA. </p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Mesenchymal stem cells, Mesotherapy, Androgenetic alopecia


2015 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. 280-285
Author(s):  
Sólyom Árpád ◽  
Király Ildikó ◽  
Benedek Csaba ◽  
Nagy Ors ◽  
Solyom Reka ◽  
...  

Introduction: BMAC-Harvest is an innovational method regarding autogenous stem cell treatments in various fields of medicine. In osteoarticular pathology it is used for treating chronic pathology cases as well as acute and traumatic ones. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to represent the clinical and imaging results of the patients presented to the Ist Orthopedic and Traumatology Clinic of Targu Mures. The results were obtained in the period 2012-2014 after using BMAC-Harvest autologous stem cells. Material and method: For this study the authors have included 28 patients from the Ist Orthopaedic and Traumatology Clinic of Targu Mures, suffering from different musculoskeletal pathologies. The method used on these patients was a surgical treatment, which consisted of injecting BMAC-Harvest autogenous stem cells in a unique dosage. The procedure was conducted in the operating room in sterile conditions. These cells were extracted from the iliac crest after appropriate preparation and general anesthezia. Patients were evaluated from a clinical and imaging point of view at periods of 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment. In the evaluation the following aspects were monitorized in the form of questionnaires: level of satisfaction, mobility and the daily activities of patients. The pain intensity of the patients was measured by using the VAS scale (visual analog scale). For imaging representations the authors used standard radiography and IRM in 2 occurrences and have taken into account every sign which appeared after the treatment.Results: The satisfaction level of the patients was significantly increased after the 12th month evaluation compared to results after 3rd month. The pain got considerably reduced and most of the patients could resume their activity from before the treatment. 4 patients have reported mild and medium pain 12 months after the treatment. Conclusion: Autogenous stem cell treatment is an innovational technique with satisfying results for short and medium periods. The BMAC-Harvest autogenous stem cells can be used with clear indications in locomotor organ pathology and it can help in the recuperation of the patient after a trauma. The BMAC-Harvest autogenous stem cells increase the formation of callus after a fracture or pseudoarthrosis. This is an innovational procedure and it can be used successfully in osteoarticular pathology both chronic and acute.


Hematology ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 (1) ◽  
pp. 398-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Q. Daley ◽  
Margaret A. Goodell ◽  
Evan Y. Snyder

Abstract Studies of the regenerating hematopoietic system have led to the definition of many of the fundamental principles of stem cell biology. Therapies based on a range of tissue stem cells have been widely touted as a new treatment modality, presaging an emerging new specialty called regenerative medicine that promises to harness stem cells from embryonic and somatic sources to provide replacement cell therapies for genetic, malignant, and degenerative conditions. Insights borne from stem cell biology also portend development of protein and small molecule therapeutics that act on endogenous stem cells to promote repair and regeneration. Much of the newfound enthusiasm for regenerative medicine stems from the hope that advances in the laboratory will be followed soon thereafter by breakthrough treatments in the clinic. But how does one sort through the hype to judge the true promise? Are stem cell biologists and the media building expectations that cannot be met? Which diseases can be treated, and when can we expect success? In this review, we outline the realms of investigation that are capturing the most attention, and consider the current state of scientific understanding and controversy regarding the properties of embryonic and somatic (adult) stem cells. Our objective is to provide a framework for appreciating the promise while at the same time understanding the challenges behind translating fundamental stem cell biology into novel clinical therapies.


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