When stem cells meet COVID-19: recent advances, challenges and future perspectives
Shasha Li, Hecheng Zhu, Ming Zhao, Weidong Liu, Lei Wang, Bin Zhu, Wen Xie, Cong Zhao, Yao Zhou, Caiping Ren, Hui Liu, Xingjun Jiang
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 is currently spreading throughout the world with a high rate of infection and mortality and poses a huge threat to global public health. COVID-19 primarily manifests as hypoxic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can lead to multiple organ failure. Despite advances in the supportive care approaches, there is still a lack of clinically effective therapies, and there is an urgent need to develop novel strategies to fight this disease. Currently, stem cell therapy and stem cell-derived organoid models have received extensive attention as a new treatment and research method for COVID-19. Here, we discuss how stem cells play a role in the battle against COVID-19 and present a systematic review and prospective of the study on stem cell treatment and organoid models of COVID-19, which provides a reference for the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.