m-MSC: Molecular Communication-Based Analysis for Controlled MSC Treatment of Cytokine Storm

COVID-19-induced cytokine storm, which is formed due to the excessive secretion of cytokine molecules, causes multi-organ damage and subsequently, the death of COVID-19 patients. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) are regarded as cellular vaccines to combat the hyper-inflammatory response to cytokine storms. However, determining the required dose of MSCs to be infused within a certain time period is challenging due to the complex vascular networks and varying individual immune responses. In this work, we propose a molecular communication-based system to model the transmission, propagation, and immuno-modulatory response of MSCs to the cytokine storm. The proposed analytical model provides valuable insights into the behavior of the system and can be used as a framework for further experimental-based studies to estimate the required dose of MSCs. We analyze the varying shapes and geometries of the vascular channel on the propagation of the MSCs. We observe that the higher shear stress hinders MSC signal propagation, while lower shear stress induces propagation along the channel. Simulation results show that the MSC signal peaks in four simulation days upon administering the MSCs. Further, the results reveal that repeating the MSC infusion on alternate days is required to maintain a prolonged immuno-modulating effect on the cytokine storm.