Immunomodulatory and Anti-fibrotic Effects Following the Infusion of Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in a Critically Ill Patient With COVID-19 Presenting Lung Fibrosis: A Case Report

Frontiers in Medicine

Fernanda Ferreira Cruz³  Patricia Rieken Macêdo Rocco³  Hugo Caire de Castro-Faria-Neto⁴  André Luiz Nunes Gobatto⁵  Priscila Carvalho Guedes Pinheiro⁵  Rogério da Hora Passos⁶  Carolina Kymie Vasques Nonaka⁶  Bruno Diaz Paredes⁸  Luciana Souza de Aragão França⁸  Bruno B. Andrade⁹  Mariana Araújo-Pereira⁹  Bruno Solano de Freitas Souza^1,10  Rafael Tibúrcio^1,10  Kátia Nunes da Silva^1,10  Gabriele Louise Soares Martins^1,10  Beatriz Barreto-Duarte^1,12 

[1] 0COVID-19 Virus Network from Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brasília, Brazil;1COVID-19 Virus Network from Foundation Carlos Chagas Filho Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;2National Institute of Science and Technology for Regenerative Medicine, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;3Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;Center for Biotechnology and Cell Therapy, São Rafael Hospital, Salvador, Brazil;Critical Care Unit, São Rafael Hospital, Salvador, Brazil;Curso de Medicina, Universidade Salvador (UNIFACS), Laureate International Universities, Salvador, Brazil;D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Salvador, Brazil;Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil;Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador, Brazil;Laboratory of Pulmonary Investigation, Carlos Chagas Filho Institute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;Multinational Organization Network Sponsoring Translational and Epidemiological Research (MONSTER) Initiative, Salvador, Brazil;Programa de Pós-Graduação em Clínica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;

关键词: COVID-19;    ARDS;    mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs);    cell therapy;    immunomodulation;    fibrosis;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2021.767291

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: The patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may require prolonged mechanical ventilation which often results in lung fibrosis, thus worsening the prognosis and increasing fatality rates. A mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy may decrease lung inflammation and accelerate recovery in COVID-19. In this context, some studies have reported the effects of MSC therapy for patients not requiring invasive ventilation or during the first hours of tracheal intubation. However, this is the first case report presenting the reduction of not only lung inflammation but also lung fibrosis in a critically ill long-term mechanically ventilated patient with COVID-19.Case Presentation: This is a case report of a 30-year-old male patient with COVID-19 under invasive mechanical ventilation for 14 days in the intensive care unit (ICU), who presented progressive clinical deterioration associated with lung fibrosis. The symptoms onset was 35 days before MSC therapy. The patient was treated with allogenic human umbilical-cord derived MSCs [5 × 107 (2 doses 2 days interval)]. No serious adverse events were observed during and after MSC administration. After MSC therapy, PaO2/FiO2 ratio increased, the need for vasoactive drugs reduced, chest CT scan imaging, which initially showed signs of bilateral and peripheral ground-glass, as well as consolidation and fibrosis, improved, and the systemic mediators associated with inflammation decreased. Modulation of the different cell populations in peripheral blood was also observed, such as a reduction in inflammatory monocytes and an increase in the frequency of patrolling monocytes, CD4+ lymphocytes, and type 2 classical dendritic cells (cDC2). The patient was discharged 13 days after the cell therapy.Conclusions: Mesenchymal stromal cell therapy may be a promising option in critically ill patients with COVID-19 presenting both severe lung inflammation and fibrosis. Further clinical trials could better assess the efficacy of MSC therapy in critically ill patients with COVID-19 with lung fibrosis associated with long-term mechanical ventilation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown