Stem cell therapy: a potential approach for treatment of influenza virus and coronavirus-induced acute lung injury

• Published in: Stem cell research & therapy Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 192 - 9
• Main Authors: Du, Jiang, Li, Han, Lian, Jie, Zhu, Xinxing, Qiao, Liang, Lin, Juntang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 24.05.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Acute lung injury; Acute Lung Injury - etiology; Acute Lung Injury - therapy; Acute Lung Injury - virology; Acute respiratory distress syndrome; B cells; Betacoronavirus - pathogenicity; Cell therapy; Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; Coronaviridae; Coronavirus - pathogenicity; Coronaviruses; Cytokines - metabolism; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Homeopathy; Humans; Influenza; Influenza virus; Influenza viruses; Lung stem/progenitor cells; Lungs; Materia medica and therapeutics; Mesenchymal stem cells; Mesenchymal Stem Cells - cytology; Morbidity; Orthomyxoviridae - pathogenicity; Pandemics; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory distress syndrome; Review; SARS-CoV-2; Stem cell therapy; Stem Cell Transplantation; Stem cells; Therapeutics; Transplantation; Viruses; Acute lung injury; Coronaviruses; Stem cell therapy; Influenza virus; Lung stem/progenitor cells; Mesenchymal stem cells
• ISSN: 1757-6512; 1757-6512
• DOI: 10.1186/s13287-020-01699-3

Acute lung injury (ALI), an increasingly devastating human disorder, is characterized by a multitude of lung changes arising from a wide variety of lung injuries. Viral infection is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in ALI and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients. In particular, influenza virus, coronavirus, and other respiratory viruses circulate in nature in various animal species and can cause severe and rapidly spread human infections. Although scientific advancements have allowed for rapid progress to be made to understand the pathogenesis and develop therapeutics after each viral pandemic, few effective methods to treat virus-induced ALI have been described. Recently, stem cell therapy has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases, including ALI. In this review, we detail the present stem cell-based therapeutics for lung injury caused by influenza virus and the outlook for the future state of stem cell therapy to deal with emerging influenza and coronaviruses.