Stem Cell Res Ther . 2020 May 27;11(1):207. doi: 10.1186/s13287-020-01725-4.

Intravenous Infusion of Human Umbilical Cord Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells as a Potential Treatment for Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia

Yingxin Zhang  ¹ , Jie Ding  ¹ , Shaoda Ren  ¹ , Weihua Wang  ¹ , Yapei Yang  ¹ , Shuangjing Li  ¹ , Min Meng  ¹ , Tiejun Wu  ² , Daliang Liu  ³ , Suochen Tian  ² , Hui Tian  ² , Shuangfeng Chen  ⁴ , Changhui Zhou  ⁵

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has grown to be a global public health emergency since patients were first detected in Wuhan, China. Thus far, no specific drugs or vaccines are available to cure the patients with COVID-19 infection. The immune system and inflammation are proposed to play a central role in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to possess a comprehensive powerful immunomodulatory function. Intravenous infusion of MSCs has shown promising results in COVID-19 treatment. Here, we report a case of a severe COVID-19 patient treated with human umbilical cord Wharton's jelly-derived MSCs (hWJCs) from a healthy donor in Liaocheng People's Hospital, China, from February 24, 2020. The pulmonary function and symptoms of the patient with COVID-19 pneumonia was significantly improved in 2 days after hWJC transplantation, and recovered and discharged in 7 days after treatment. After treatment, the percentage and counts of lymphocyte subsets (CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ T cell) were increased, and the level of IL-6, TNF-α, and C-reactive protein is significantly decreased after hWJC treatment. Thus, the intravenous transplantation of hWJCs was safe and effective for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, especially for the patients in a critically severe condition. This report highlights the potential of hWJC infusions as an effective treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia.