Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent responsible for the development of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is a highly transmittable virus which, in just ten months, infected more than 40 million people in 214 countries worldwide. After inhalation, aerosols containing SARS-CoV-2 penetrate to the depths of the lungs and cause severe pneumonia, alveolar injury, and life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Since there are no specific drugs or vaccines available to cure or prevent COVID-19 infection and COVID-19-related ARDS, a new therapeutic agent which will support oxygen supply and, at the same time, efficiently alleviate SARS-CoV-2-induced lung inflammation is urgently needed. Due to their potent immuno- and angiomodulatory characteristics, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may increase oxygen supply in the lungs and may efficiently alleviate ongoing lung inflammation, including SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS. In this review article, we described molecular mechanisms that are responsible for MSC-based modulation of immune cells which play a pathogenic role in the development of SARS-CoV-2-induced ARDS and we provided a brief outline of already conducted and ongoing clinical studies that increase our understanding about the therapeutic potential of MSCs and their secretome in the therapy of COVID-19-related ARDS.

中文翻译：

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间充质干细胞及其分泌组在SARS-CoV-2诱导的急性呼吸窘迫综合征治疗中的治疗潜力

严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）是导致新的冠状病毒病（COVID-19）发生的病原体，是一种高度可传播的病毒，仅在短短的10个月内就感染了4000万人在全球214个国家/地区中。吸入后，含有SARS-CoV-2的气溶胶会渗透到肺部深处，并导致严重的肺炎，肺泡损伤和危及生命的急性呼吸窘迫综合征（ARDS）。由于尚无可用于治疗或预防COVID-19感染和与COVID-19相关的ARDS的特定药物或疫苗，因此，一种新的治疗剂可支持氧气供应，同时有效缓解SARS-CoV-2诱导的疾病急需肺部炎症。由于其强大的免疫和血管调节特性，间充质干细胞（MSC）可能会增加肺中的氧气供应，并可能有效缓解正在进行的肺部炎症，包括SARS-CoV-2诱导的ARDS。在这篇综述文章中，我们描述了负责基于MSC的免疫细胞调节的分子机制，这些机制在SARS-CoV-2诱导的ARDS的发展中起着致病作用，并简要概述了已经开展和正在进行的临床研究这增加了我们对MSC及其分泌组在治疗COVID-19相关ARDS中的治疗潜力的了解。