UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga held a talk show on Covid-19 Treatment Therapy with Stem Cells at UNAIR Covid-19 Archive Exhibition, held at Balai Pemuda Surabaya on January 11, 2023. Andang Miatmoko PhD Apt, who is a lecturer at Faculty of Pharmacy, was invited as a guest speaker.
Apart from being active as a teaching staff at the Faculty of Pharmacy UNAIR, Andang is also active as a secretary of Center for Stem Cell Research and Development. One of the products produced is an anti-aging product in Indonesia, the first metabolite-based stem cell to receive a distribution permit from BPOM.
Andang said that research was not limited to anti-aging treatment but also related to research on degenerative diseases, and they also collaborated with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) for a Covid-19 handling project. One of the new methods includes stem cells that can be used for Covid-19 therapy. Stem cells can develop into various cells in an organism’s body and are often used as tissue regeneration therapy.
However, stem cell also has major obstacles, such as most therapies are autologous or transplantation which can only be applied to one patient or related patients. “The body’s immune system is still the main obstacle in less product- treatment, so to overcome this, we want to make products that can be made on an industrial scale with the development of product metabolites from stem cells, “explained Andang.
Andang also explained how stem cells could be a therapy for Covid-19 by using Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) isolated from the patient’s plasma.
“So we process the patient’s plasma, take the Hematopoietic Stem Cells, then develop it in the lab and inject it into the patient. HSC can induce the formation of certain cells quickly and also as an anti-inflammatory therapy,” explained the UNAIR pharmacy lecturer.
Andang explained that Covid-19 causes acute respiratory distress syndrome due to airways inflammation, which can make breathing difficult. Mediators produced by stem cells play a role in body processes.
“HSC mediators play a role in the body’s processes so that swelling does not occur. In the end, it will be related to the main body functions, to the respiratory tract, which is the main organ infected by the virus, so the symptoms will not be severe,” he explained.
Author: Jihan Aura
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
