Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells: The Present Alternative for High-Incidence Diseases, Even SARS-Cov-2

Stem Cells Int. 2020 Dec 18:2020:8892189. doi: 10.1155/2020/8892189. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), defined as plastic adherent cells with multipotent differentiation capacity in vitro, are an emerging and valuable tool to treat a plethora of diseases due to their therapeutic mechanisms such as their paracrine activity, mitochondrial and organelle transfer, and transfer of therapeutic molecules via exosomes. Nowadays, there are more than a thousand registered clinical trials related to MSC application around the world, highlighting MSC role on difficult-to-treat high-incidence diseases such as the current COVID-19, HIV infections, and autoimmune and metabolic diseases. Here, we summarize a general overview of MSCs and their therapeutic mechanisms; also, we discuss some of the novel clinical trial protocols and their results as well as a comparison between the number of registries, countries, and search portals.

Publication types

  • Review