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.