ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been increasing rapidly. This disease causes an increase in proinflammatory cytokine production that leads to cytokine storm or cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Autologous activated platelet-rich plasma (aaPRP) contains various types of growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines that may have the potential to suppress CRS. This study of phase I/II trial was aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of aaPRP to treat severe COVID-19 patients. METHODS: A total of 10 severe COVID-19 patients from Koja Regional Public Hospital (Koja RPH) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). All patients received aaPRP administration three times. Primary outcomes involving the duration of hospitalization, oxygen needs, time of recovery, and mortality were observed. Secondary outcomes involving C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil, lymphocyte, and lymphocyte-to-CRP (LCR) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were analyzed. RESULTS: All patients were transferred to the ICU with a median duration of 9 days. All patients received oxygen at enrollment and nine of ten patients recovered from the ICU and transferred to the ward room. There was one patient who passed away in the ICU due to heart failure. The results of secondary outcomes showed that CRP value and lymphocytes counts were significantly decreased while neutrophils, LCR, and NLR were slightly increased after aaPRP administration. CONCLUSIONS: Our results of the phase I/II trial demonstrated that the use of aaPRP in severe COVID-19 patients was safe and not associated with serious adverse events, which showed that aaPRP was a promising adjunctive therapy for severe COVID-19 patients.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ascorbic acid-2-phosphate has been reported to play a role in cell division and to suppress aging of cell. However, post-thawed cell morphology on various concentration of ascorbic acid is still unclear. In this study, we aimed to observe the morphology of post-thawed adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) in medium containing L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (LAA2P) (50 and 100 µg/mL). METHODS: The cells were isolated from adipose tissue. Isolated cells then cultured and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. We detected mRNA expression of type 1 collagen on day 5. Cell seeded in T25 flask using basal medium [Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) only] as a control group, DMEM with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and antibiotics as DMFA group, while DMFA with ascorbic acid (50 and 100 µg/mL) as ascorbic acid treatment group. RESULTS: The results showed that the cells cultured in DMEM only attached until 96 hours of observation while serum groups with or without ascorbic acid supplementation showed the proliferation until 240 hours of observation. The highest spread size of cell was in a serum group without ascorbic acid supplementation and the highest yield of cells showed in a group with 50 µg/mL of ascorbic acid supplementation. Reduced mRNA expression of type 1 collagen which related to aging was showed in cells cultured without ascorbic acid supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that ascorbic acid increased the cell division and suppressed the aging processes indicated by normal spread cell in size compared to cell cultured in DMFA without ascorbic acid supplementation.
