The Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapies in the Treatment of Crush Injuries and Crush Syndrome after an Earthquake

Severe earthquakes can lead to serious injuries and fatalities. People trapped beneath collapsed structures may also suffer from crush injuries (CI) and crush syndrome (CS) due to the major trauma involved. Our goal in this study is to examine the positive effects of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation on healing and tissue regeneration in critically ill patients with crush injuries and crush syndrome following an earthquake. Each patient received three transplants of Wharton’s Jelly-derived MSCs, administered approximately two-thirds intravenously and one-third subcutaneously. Prior to clinical use, MSCs were characterized under GMP conditions by assessing viability, immunophenotyping, trilineage differentiation, and microbiological quality testing. The effectiveness of MSC treatment for CI and CS was evaluated by examining renal function, inflammatory and immune response markers, and regeneration markers. After MSC treatment, high levels of myoglobin, urea, creatinine, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium, which indicate renal function, returned to normal. MSC administration decreased proinflammatory cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-8) while increasing anti-inflammatory cytokine levels (IL-10, IL-35). MSC treatment elevates the levels of growth factors such as EGFR, KGF, EGF, ARG-1, and VEGF-A, which play an important role in wound healing. Our study shows that MSC treatment positively affects wound healing, tissue regeneration, renal failure, and immune modulation in critically ill patients with crush injury and crush syndrome following an earthquake.