Stem Cell Reports . Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Are Resistant to SARS-CoV-2 Infection under Steady-State, Inflammatory Conditions and in the Presence of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Cells

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Stem Cell Reports


. 2020 Sep 11;S2213-6711(20)30378-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.09.003. Online ahead of print.
Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Are Resistant to SARS-CoV-2 Infection under Steady-State, Inflammatory Conditions and in the Presence of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Cells


Richard Sch?fer ¹ , Gabriele Spohn ² , Marco Bechtel ³ , Denisa Bojkova ³ , Patrick C Baer ⁴ , Selim Ku?i ⁵ , Erhard Seifried ² , Sandra Ciesek ⁶ , Jindrich Cinatl ³



Affiliations

• PMID: 32950067
• DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.09.003

Free article

Abstract

Previous studies reported on the safety and applicability of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) to ameliorate pulmonary inflammation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Thus, multiple clinical trials assessing the potential of MSCs for COVID-19 treatment are underway. Yet, as SARS-inducing coronaviruses infect stem/progenitor cells, it is unclear whether MSCs could be infected by SARS-CoV-2 upon transplantation to COVID-19 patients. We found that MSCs from bone marrow, amniotic fluid, and adipose tissue carry angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and transmembrane protease serine subtype 2 at low levels on the cell surface under steady-state and inflammatory conditions. We did not observe SARS-CoV-2 infection or replication in MSCs at steady state under inflammatory conditions, or in direct contact with SARS-CoV-2-infected Caco-2 cells. Further, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 production in MSCs was not impaired in the presence of SARS-CoV-2. We show that MSCs are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection and retain their immunomodulation potential, supporting their potential applicability for COVID-19 treatment.

Keywords: ARDS; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; inflammation; mesenchymal stromal cells; stem cells.