Regenerative Medicine in COVID-19 Treatment: Real Opportunities and Range of Promises

Abstract

Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has attracted much attention around the world due to its rapid transmission among humans and relatively high mortality rate. Studies are increasing to find the best therapeutic approach for the disease and its management. Regenerative medicine offers various cell-tissue therapeutics and related products, such as stem cell therapy, natural killer (NK) cell therapy, Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, exosomes, and tissue products. Interestingly, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can reduce inflammatory symptoms and protect against cytokine storm, which critically contributes to the COVID-19 progression. Notably, having the potentials to exert cytotoxic effects on infected cells and induce interferon production probably make NK cells a candidate for COVID-19 cell therapy. Besides, exosomes are one of the crucial products of cells that can exert therapeutic effects through the induction of immune responses and neutralizing antibody titers. The paper aims to briefly consider current options for COVID-19 therapy to show that there is no specific cure for COVID-19, and then assess the real opportunities and range of promises regenerative medicine can provide for specific treatment of COVID-19.