Multiple stem cell treatment projects for new crown pneumonia launched
What can stem cells do to stop the epidemic
Stem cells are a class of pluripotent cells that have the ability to replicate and differentiate. Under certain conditions, stem cells can multi-directionally differentiate into tissue cells, replacing aging and dead cells. In addition, it can also secrete some growth factors and cytokines to regulate and improve the overall vitality of the body, such as promoting angiogenesis and cell proliferation and differentiation, and inhibiting inflammatory responses.
At present, the battle against epidemic disease has reached the tackling stage. In the face of the urgent need for epidemic prevention and control, drug research and development is obviously one of the "emphasis".
Recently, at a press conference held by the State Council ’s joint prevention and control mechanism to support epidemic prevention and control, Xu Nanping, deputy minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that in addition to traditional Chinese medicine, chloroquine phosphate and recovery plasma that have been included in the diagnosis and treatment program, fapivir Radixivir and stem cell therapy are also in clinical trials. Among them, with regard to stem cell therapy, 4 patients who have received treatment have been discharged from the hospital, and clinical trials will be further expanded.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, stem cell technology with auras such as "repair" and "renewal" has attracted much attention. At this stage, what are the results of related research on stem cell therapy for neo-coronary pneumonia? How do stem cells work?
Stem cells have long been used clinically for the treatment of infectious diseases
Stem cells are a class of pluripotent cells that have the ability to replicate and differentiate. Under certain conditions, stem cells can differentiate into multiple functional cells. A series of studies have shown that stem cells can multi-directionally differentiate into tissue cells, replacing aging dead cells. In addition, stem cells also have strong secretory functions, can secrete some growth factors and cytokines, and regulate and improve the overall vitality of the body, such as promoting angiogenesis and cell proliferation and differentiation, and inhibiting inflammatory responses.
Stem cell technology has long been used clinically to treat infectious diseases and complications. Previously, people have tried stem cell technology in the treatment of H7N9 bird flu, and it has worked well. Therefore, several domestic medical institutions and scientific research institutions have started related research on stem cell treatment of new coronary pneumonia.
According to the official website of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Academy of Chinese Academy of Sciences' Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Innovation Institute independently developed a new type of CAStem cell drug, which has shown good results in animal experiments in the early stage. At present, the research team has applied for emergency approval to the FDA, cooperated with relevant medical institutions, and is undergoing clinical observation and evaluation with the approval of the ethics committee.
The team of Wang Fusheng, an academician of the Fifth Medical Center of the General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, is working with Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Tianjin Haihe Hospital and other units to carry out a project called "Safety and Effectiveness of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Pneumonia Patients with New Coronavirus Infection in 2019" The clinical study recruited patients to test mesenchymal stem cell treatment options.
Huang Jianrong, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment, member of the Zhejiang Provincial Expert Group for the Prevention and Treatment of New Coronavirus Pneumonia, and deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical College, also said in an interview that the First Hospital of Zhejiang University has passed the ethics committee Discussion, preparing to apply stem cell therapy to patients with severe new-type coronavirus.
Professor Zuo Wei, a professor at the Medical College of Tongji University, has used high-throughput single-cell sequencing and analysis technology to study more than 43,000 lung cells in recent days, and aims at a universal lung stem cell therapy technology that can be widely used in the war of resistance to epidemics. It is understood that the project has now entered the relevant review path and is expected to enter the clinical stage in the near future.
In addition, there are several emergency scientific research projects related to stem cell treatment of new coronavirus pneumonia, which are continuously being developed and tested.
Faced with a new type of coronavirus, scientific and medical personnel responded quickly, and a large amount of human and material resources were invested, making stem cell technology one of the important weapons for the epidemic. At this stage, multiple units are conducting parallel R & D and gradually entering clinical trials to evaluate safety and effectiveness. Although the progress is different, they are all moving towards the same goal.
May reduce inflammatory tissue damage and form new alveoli
Relevant research on stem cell technology to fight the epidemic is in full swing. So, how exactly do stem cells play a role in the treatment of new coronary pneumonia? Is the application targeted?
The reporter from the Science and Technology Daily interviewed Zuo Wei as the chief scientist of the national key research and development program "Stem Cells and Transformation Research". He has been engaged in the research of lung stem cells for a long time and is leading the research on the universal lung stem cells against the new crown pneumonia mentioned earlier. project.
"At this stage, research on stem cell anti-epidemics is basically focused on improving the condition of critically ill patients." Zuo Wei said that many people have a misunderstanding that treating pneumonia often pays more attention to anti-virus and thinks about how to kill the virus as soon as possible. But in fact, when the disease progresses to severe, the virus activity in many patients' body is already low. The real reason for the deterioration of the patient's condition or even death is that the viral infection excessively activates the human immune system, which triggers an "inflammatory storm", which causes inflammatory tissue damage in the lungs and impaired gas exchange functions in the lungs. Severe patients may also suffer from respiratory failure and suffer from respiratory distress syndrome. "Pulmonary inflammation and injury are the most important issues for patients with severe illness," Zuo said.
Lung tissue damage puts critically ill patients at risk of death and sequelae. Stem cells have high hopes for repairing lung damage in these patients.
Specifically, a certain number of stem cells are kept in every human body, and the fight against acute pneumonia mainly relies on bronchial basal cells (a type of lung stem cells). Lungs are complex organs composed of trachea, bronchi, and alveoli. When large-scale lung damage occurs, the bronchial basal cells located in the bronchi will migrate to the damaged alveolar site and form a "barrier." This "barrier" can block the attack of immune inflammatory cells on the one hand, and gradually differentiate into new alveoli on the other.
Zuo Wei told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that the stem cells currently used in the treatment of new coronary pneumonia mainly include three types: mesenchymal stem cells, lung stem cells, and embryonic stem cells. Researchers usually inject stem cell products into the lungs of animals or clinical trials by injection.
"Under the influence of external forces, if the lung stem cell activity of the critically ill patient is strong, the lung function recovers quickly and the prognosis is good. Otherwise, the recovery is slow and the prognosis is poor. Therefore, we hope to supplement the lung stem cells with external sources. Protect and repair the lungs. "Zuo Wei said that lung stem cells can be directly differentiated into lung functional cells, and embryonic stem cells can also achieve the above purpose through corresponding induction methods. Although mesenchymal stem cells cannot induce the formation of lung functional cells, they can play a potential role by secreting several immune regulatory factors.
Although the mechanism of the three functions in the clinic is different, it can be attributed to the two aspects of controlling inflammation and repairing damage: stem cells can inhibit inflammatory factors by secretion, improve the immune microenvironment of the lung, and reduce the inflammation storm. The risk of lung failure; stem cells have the potential for self-renewal and differentiation, can form corresponding functional cells, and regenerate the main structure of gas exchange, the alveoli, to achieve tissue repair and improve lung fibrosis.
It may take some time to be widely used in the front line
Needless to say, the stem cell technology can fully bear the title of "anti-epidemic general" in terms of therapeutic principles. However, it may take some time for it to be widely used in the anti-epidemic front.
Zuo emphasized that the safety and effectiveness of a new drug or new therapy need to be verified step by step with a sufficient amount of clinical trials under the premise of scientific principles, and the clinical effect is the core principle.
Shen Yinzhong, chief physician of the Department of Infection and Immunology of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, also holds similar views. He said that in the process of trying to treat a type of disease with stem cells, animal experiments must be conducted first, then preclinical research, and then clinical research ... Only after sufficient evaluation has been performed to ensure its effectiveness and safety can it Used on a large scale. This process usually takes a relatively long time.
"The organism itself is a huge mystery. We have not yet fully understood the pathogenesis of pneumonia, the detailed mechanism of action of stem cells, etc. We have not yet fully grasped some of the positive or negative regulation mechanisms, artificial regulation measures, etc. On the basis of enough basic research, try boldly and verify carefully. "Zuo Wei said.
Shen Yinzhong said that stem cell technology has created a choice for humans to overcome a relatively dangerous disease such as new coronary pneumonia, but no matter what kind of stem cell treatment technology should be rigorously researched and evaluated, it must be proven safe and effective before it can be promoted.
Intern reporter Yu Ziyue