Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) affects an increasing number of people globally, yet treatment options remain limited. At present, conventional treatments depending on drug therapy do not show an ideal effect in reversing the lung damage or extending the lives of IPF patients. In recent years, more and more attention has focused on extracellular vesicles (EVs) which show extraordinary therapeutic effects in inflammation, fibrosis disease, and tissue damage repair in many kinds of disease therapy. More importantly, EVs can be modified or used as a drug or cytokine delivery tool, targeting injury sites to enhance treatment efficiency. In light of this, the treatment strategy of mesenchymal stem cell-extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) targeting the pulmonary microenvironment for IPF provides a new idea for the treatment of IPF. In this review, we summarized the inflammation, immune dysregulation, and extracellular matrix microenvironment (ECM) disorders in the IPF microenvironment in order to reveal the treatment strategy of MSC-EVs targeting the pulmonary microenvironment for IPF.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has so far resulted in over a hundred million people being infected. COVID-19 poses a threat to human health around the world. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been confirmed as the pathogenic virus of COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the β-coronavirus family of viruses and is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract. It has been proven that SARS-CoV-2 mainly targets angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) receptors on the surface of various cells in humans. The main clinical symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Current evidence suggests that the damage caused by the virus may be closely related to the induction of cytokine storms in COVID-19. No specific drugs or measures have yet to be shown to cure COVID-19 completely. Cell-based approaches, primarily mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have been identified to have anti-inflammatory and immune functions in COVID-19. Clinical studies about using MSCs and its derivativesexosomes for COVID-19 treatmentare under investigation. Here, we review the current progress of the biological characteristics, clinical manifestations, and cell-based treatment development for COVID-19. Providing up-to-date information on COVID-19 and potential MSC therapies will help highlight routes to prevent and treat the disease.

The pathophysiological mechanism of abnormal coagulation can result from smoke inhalation injury (SII). Heparin nebulization is a common treatment for lung disorders. This study aimed to use meta-analysis in animal models to examine the effectiveness of atomized heparin on SII. For our online searches, we used the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), and Wanfang Database up to January 2022. Data for SII were retrieved and compared to control animals. The studies' findings were determined by combining standardized mean difference (SMD) analysis with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The findings showed that as compared to the control group, the heparin-treated group had a lower death rate (relative risk (RR) 0.42; 95% CI 0.22, 0.80; P < 0.05). The meta-analysis demonstrated favorable changes in lung physiology, including PaO₂/FiO₂ (SMD 1.04; 95% CI 0.65, 1.44; P < 0.001), lung wet-to-dry (W/D) weight ratio (SMD −1.83; 95% CI −2.47, −1.18; P < 0. 001), and pulmonary shunt Qs/Qt (SMD −0.69; 95% CI −1.29, −0.08; P < 0.05) after heparin nebulization for lung injury. The present data indicated that pulmonary artery mean pressure (PAMP) in the heparin therapy group was significantly lowered after 24 and 48 h (hours) of therapy, suggesting that the cardiovascular system could recover following heparin treatment. As a result, heparin nebulization appeared to be more effective against SII and improved cardiopulmonary function compared to the control group.