PT-MSCs Exosome Injection in the Treatment of Chronic-to-acute Liver Failure

February 6, 2026 updated by: Liang Peng, Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University

Single-center, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Study of PT-MSCs Exosome Injection (Code: PT-MSCs-EVS-2023-1) in the Treatment of Chronic-to-acute Liver Failure

The goal of this single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PT-MSCs Exosome Injection (code: PT-MSCs-EVS-2023-1) in treating patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). As an exploratory study with a small sample size, the primary focus is to observe safety outcomes and preliminary efficacy. The study will enroll patients aged 18 to 65 years who meet the diagnostic criteria for acute-on-chronic liver failure as outlined in the 2024 Chinese Liver Failure Clinical Guidelines and have a COSSH-ACLF II score of less than 7.4.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

Does the combined therapy improve the 12-week survival rate compared to standard treatment alone? What is the safety profile of the PT-MSCs Exosome Injection (incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events)? Does the treatment improve clinical symptoms (such as fatigue, anorexia, and jaundice) and biochemical markers (liver function, coagulation, inflammation)? Does the treatment improve the 4-week survival rate and reduce the incidence of adverse outcomes (death, treatment abandonment, or liver transplantation)?

Participants will be recruited and screened to ensure eligibility. A total of 20 eligible participants will be randomly allocated into one of two groups in a 1:1 ratio using block randomization:

Control Group (10 patients): Participants will receive standard comprehensive internal medical treatment, including antiviral therapy, hepatoprotective drugs, and symptomatic support. Artificial liver support or liver transplantation may be performed based on the investigator's clinical judgment.

Study Group (10 patients): In addition to the standard treatment received by the control group, participants will receive PT-MSCs Exosomes (2×10^11 particles per dose).

For the Study Group, the exosome injection is diluted in 100 mL of normal saline and administered via intravenous infusion over a period of not less than 2 hours. Treatment is administered once every 3 days (on Day 1, Day 4, Day 7, and Day 10) for a total of 4 doses. All participants will undergo follow-up assessments at specific intervals (Days 4, 7, 10, 13, 28, and 84) to monitor survival, clinical improvement, and safety signals.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510630
        • Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 510630

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 to 65 years, regardless of gender.
  • Diagnosed with Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF) according to the diagnostic criteria in the "Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Failure (2024 Edition)."
  • COSSH-ACLF II score < 7.4.
  • Participants must be fully informed about the study and voluntarily sign a written informed consent form prior to participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with chronic liver failure.
  • Patients with active bleeding or Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) that has not been effectively controlled.
  • Known allergy to blood products or any medications/drugs used in the treatment protocol.
  • Patients with circulatory failure.
  • History of myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, or cerebral hemorrhage within the past 6 months.
  • History of malignancy within the past 5 years (excluding cured basal cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the cervix).
  • Pregnant or lactating women.
  • Any other conditions that, in the opinion of the investigator, make the patient unsuitable for participation in the trial.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Control Group
Participants will receive standard comprehensive internal medical treatment, including antiviral therapy, hepatoprotective drugs, and symptomatic support. Artificial liver support or liver transplantation may be performed based on the investigator's clinical judgment.
Combination product: standard comprehensive internal medical treatment,
Participants will receive standard comprehensive internal medical treatment, including antiviral therapy, hepatoprotective drugs, and symptomatic support.
Experimental: Study Group
In addition to the standard treatment received by the control group, participants will receive PT-MSCs Exosomes (2×10^11 particles per dose).
Combination product: standard comprehensive internal medical treatment,
Participants will receive standard comprehensive internal medical treatment, including antiviral therapy, hepatoprotective drugs, and symptomatic support.
Biological: exosome injection
For the Study Group, the exosome injection is diluted in 100 mL of normal saline and administered via intravenous infusion over a period of not less than 2 hours. Treatment is administered once every 3 days (on Day 1, Day 4, Day 7, and Day 10) for a total of 4 doses.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
12-Week Survival Rate
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The percentage of participants who are alive at 12 weeks after enrollment.
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes from the baseline in COSSH-ACLF II score
Time Frame: 12 weeks
The Chinese Severe Hepatitis B Study Group (COSSH), based on a multicenter, open-label large cohort study, has established a novel prognostic scoring system for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-ACLF: COSSH-ACLF II s. The COSSH-ACLF II score is calculated as: 1.649×ln(INR) + 0.457×HE grade + 0.425×ln(neutrophils) + 0.396×ln(TBil) + 0.576×ln(urea) + 0.033×age. Theoretically, the score ranges from ~1.0 to ~15.0, though clinically observed values typically fall between 4.5 and 10.0. A score of less than 7.4 indicates a low-risk group, a score between 7.4 and 8.4 indicates a moderate-risk group, and a score greater than 8.4 indicates a high risk of 28- and 90-day mortality.Higher scores indicate greater severity of liver failure and a worse outcome.
12 weeks
Changes from the baseline in Child-Pugh score
Time Frame: 12-weeks
The Child-Pugh Score assesses the prognosis of chronic liver disease based on five indicators: hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, total bilirubin, albumin, and PT/INR. The total score ranges from 5 to 15. Higher scores indicate worse liver function. (Classification: Grade A = 5-6 points; Grade B = 7-9 points; Grade C = 10-15 points.)
12-weeks
Change from Baseline in Clinical Symptom Score
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Assessment of clinical symptoms including fatigue, anorexia, nausea, jaundice, and level of consciousness. Each symptom is graded on a scale from 0 (absent) to 3(severe). The individual scores are summed to calculate a total symptom score ranging from 0 to 15. Higher scores indicate more severe symptoms.
12 weeks
4-Week Survival Rate
Time Frame: 4 weeks
The percentage of participants who are alive at 4 weeks after enrollment
4 weeks
The rate of participants with adverse outcomes at Week 4 and Week 12
Time Frame: 4-week , 12-week
The rate of adverse outcomes, defined as death, treatment abandonment, or liver transplantation.
4-week , 12-week

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in Hemoglobin
Time Frame: Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Assessment of hemoglobin concentration. Presented in units of g/L.
Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Change from Baseline in International Normalized Ratio (INR)
Time Frame: Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Assessment of coagulation function via INR. INR is a standardized ratio without units. Higher values indicate worse coagulation function.
Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Change from Baseline in Interleukin-6 (IL-6)
Time Frame: Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Measurement of serum Interleukin-6 concentration to evaluate the pro-inflammatory cytokine response. Presented in units of pg/mL.
Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Change from Baseline in White Blood Cell (WBC) Count
Time Frame: Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Assessment of inflammation through total white blood cell count. Presented in units of 10^9/L.
Day1, Day4、Day7、Day10、Day13、Day28、Day84
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse Events (AEs) and serious Adverse Events (SAEs)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Safety assessment evaluating the frequency and severity of adverse events throughout the study duration. All treatment-related adverse events will be assessed by CTCAE v5.0.
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 12, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • PL21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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