Against fibrosis
MSU scientists have developed a cure for fibrotic complications in coronavirus
MSU Press Service
The staff of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine and the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the Medical Research and Educational Center of Moscow State University have developed a new approach to the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, as well as to the prevention and treatment of fibrotic complications in COVID-19. Every tenth person who has had a coronavirus infection has faced them, and the consequences are often very difficult to eliminate. The approach is based on a biological drug with components of the secretome of human mesenchymal stromal cells. It will help both patients at the recovery stage and those who have just become ill and whose pathology can be prevented. The patent for the invention is registered by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property.
Fibrosis is a process in which the tissue of an organ is replaced by non—functional scar tissue, and therefore it ceases to work effectively. A variety of factors can trigger the pathological transformation: wounds, thermal and chemical burns, destruction of cells due to infections of different nature, and so on.
About 10% of patients who have had COVID-19 have experienced fibrotic lung damage. In addition, some researchers believe that fibrosis is a symptom of early aging of the lungs, leading to the development of diseases of the respiratory tract and circulatory system. The basis of a whole group of diseases associated with the development of pulmonary fibrosis is the excessive accumulation of improperly stacked extracellular matrix proteins in the lung tissue, which leads to the loss of normal tissue architecture and disruption of gas exchange up to lethal respiratory failure.
The product, developed and patented by MSU scientists, is made on the basis of the components of the secretome of mechenzyme stromal cells (MSCs) of human adipose tissue. A "secretome" is a complex of biologically active substances that cells secrete externally and use for intercellular communication. In the resulting remedy, these components suppress differentiation and inflammatory processes that contribute to the formation of fibrotic tissue, and also activate mechanisms that trigger the restoration of damaged lungs.
"Our results have shown that human mesenchymal stromal cells by secreting extracellular vesicles with a specific composition of non-coding antifibrotic RNAs can regulate the differentiation of lung stroma cells and other tissues. Due to this mechanism, the secret of MSCs when administered can both inhibit the development and progression of fibrosis, and effectively contribute to its resolution, allowing to restore the normal structure and, potentially, the function of damaged tissue," she said Natalia Basalova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, employee of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the Moscow State University.
Taking into account both the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of cases of pneumonia, it is possible to predict a large-scale demand for biological drugs of a new class based on the latest development of MSU scientists. However, their use is not limited only to the consequences of coronavirus infection: medicines will make wound healing processes more effective, and can also be used in the treatment of cancers and any other diseases accompanied by the formation of fibrotic tissue.
"Using the MSCS secretome instead of the cells themselves will avoid many of the risks associated with cell therapy and increase the likelihood of successful application of such an approach, including for the prevention and treatment of fibrotic complications of COVID-19," she stressed Anastasia Efimenko, head. laboratory of Tissue Repair and Regeneration of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of the Moscow State University.
"Moscow University holds a leading position in the field of scientific development of new drugs for regenerative medicine and provides unique opportunities not only for experimental and clinical research, but also for the production of such products," added Zhanna Hakobyan, Deputy Director of the IOC and Deputy Dean of the MSU FFM, head of the RFBR Grant No. 20-04-60487, with the support of which the following the research underlying the creation of a patented tool.
Article by Efimenko et al. The Secretome of Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as a Promising Treatment and for Rehabilitation of Patients with the Novel Coronaviral Infection is published in the journal Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences – VM.
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