Cellular Therapies for the Treatment and Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Patients with blood disorders who are immune suppressed are at increased risk for infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Sequelae of infection can include severe respiratorydisease and/or prolonged duration of viral shedding. Cellular therapies may protect these vulnerable patients by providing anti-viral cellular immunity and/or immune modulation. In this recent Review of the field, phase I/II trials evaluating adoptive cellular therapies with virus-specific T cells or natural killer cells are described along with trials evaluating the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of immune modulating cellular therapies including regulatory T cells and mesenchymal stromal cells. In addition, the immunological basis for these therapies is discussed.