Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Apr 26, 2024; 16(4): 353-374
Published online Apr 26, 2024. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v16.i4.353
Mesenchymal stem cells and their derived exosomes for the treatment of COVID-19
Xiang-Yi Hou, La-Mu Danzeng, Yi-Lin Wu, Qian-Hui Ma, Zheng Yu, Mei-Ying Li, Li-Sha Li
Xiang-Yi Hou, La-Mu Danzeng, Yi-Lin Wu, Mei-Ying Li, Li-Sha Li, The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Qian-Hui Ma, Department of Pharmacy, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Zheng Yu, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Co-first authors: Xiang-Yi Hou and La-Mu Danzeng.
Co-corresponding authors: Mei-Ying Li and Li-Sha Li.
Author contributions: Hou XY, Danzeng LM, and Ma QH wrote the paper; Wu YL and Yu Z created the figures; Li MY and Li LS reviewed, and edited the final manuscript. Li MY and Li LS contributions are equal, and each co-corresponding author has made significant contributions to different vital aspects of the research. These contributions include joint writing and a final review of the manuscript.
Supported by Science and Technology Department Project of Jilin Province, China, No. 20230101163JC; and the Outstanding Youth Fund Project of Jilin Provincial Department of Education, China, No. JJKH20241324KJ.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Sha Li, PhD, Professor, The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, No. 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China. lilisha@jlu.edu.cn
Received: December 21, 2023
Peer-review started: December 21, 2023
First decision: February 3, 2024
Revised: February 17, 2024
Accepted: March 15, 2024
Article in press: March 15, 2024
Published online: April 26, 2024
Core Tip

Core Tip: As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic normalizes, developing efficient treatments is critical to reducing the strain on the healthcare system. We summarize the various current treatments for COVID-19 and the mechanisms of damage caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Through the comparison to existing treatments, we find that stem cell therapy has more research value. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and their derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) have homing, immunomodulatory, and tissue repair abilities. They can reduce lung injury and inhibit pulmonary fibrosis. We summarized the clinical trials in recent years, analyzed the safety and effectiveness of MSC and MSC-Exo treatment from various aspects such as mechanism of action and therapeutic effect, and provided substantial theoretical support for their clinical application.