Stem cell-driven tissue regeneration as treatment for COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak emerged as a major health problem affecting the entire world. The need for specific drugs to treat COVID-19 infection has changed research interests to focus on stem cells to treat COVID-19, especially the severe cases. COVID-19 infection can lead to a proinflammatory cytokine storm, leading to inflammatory syndrome, tissue damage, tissue resident stem cell loss, and reduced tissue regeneration and repair. Stem cell therapy has already been used in treating lung diseases with promising results. Researchers have used human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids to study how COVID-19 affects various tissues. Among the different types of stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have gained more attention as a cell therapy for treating the COVID-19 related cytokine storm and organ damage, due to their immense capacity to regenerate and their immunomodulatory and cytoprotective properties. Numerous clinical trials have been initiated with MSCs for treating severely ill COVID-19 patients. This chapter gives an overview of the possibilities of various stem cell populations in the management of COVID-19 related complications.