Disease progression is usually accompanied by changes in the biochemical composition of cells and tissues and their biophysical properties. For instance, hallmarks of cancer include the stiffening of tissues caused by extracellular matrix remodelling and the softening of individual cancer cells. In this context, accumulating evidence has shown that immune cells sense and respond to mechanical signals from the environment. However, the mechanisms regulating these mechanical aspects of immune surveillance remain partially understood. The growing appreciation for the ‘mechano-immunology’ field has urged researchers to investigate how immune cells sense and respond to mechanical cues in various disease settings, paving the way for the development of novel engineering strategies that aim at mechanically modulating and potentiating immune cells for enhanced immunotherapies. Recent pioneer developments in this direction have laid the foundations for leveraging ‘mechanical immunoengineering’ strategies to treat various diseases. This Review first outlines the mechanical changes occurring during pathological progression in several diseases, including cancer, fibrosis and infection. We next highlight the mechanosensitive nature of immune cells and how mechanical forces govern the immune responses in different diseases. Finally, we discuss how targeting the biomechanical features of the disease milieu and immune cells is a promising strategy for manipulating therapeutic outcomes.

疾病进展通常伴随着细胞和组织的生化成分及其生物物理特性的变化。例如，癌症的标志包括由细胞外基质重塑引起的组织变硬和单个癌细胞的软化。在这种情况下，越来越多的证据表明，免疫细胞能够感知来自环境的机械信号并做出反应。然而，调节免疫监视这些机械方面的机制仍部分被了解。对“机械免疫学”领域日益增长的认识促使研究人员研究免疫细胞如何在各种疾病环境中感知和响应机械信号，为开发旨在机械调节和增强免疫细胞的新型工程策略铺平道路。增强免疫疗法。最近在这个方向上的先驱发展为利用“机械免疫工程”策略治疗各种疾病奠定了基础。本综述首先概述了几种疾病（包括癌症、纤维化和感染）病理进展过程中发生的机械变化。接下来我们重点介绍免疫细胞的机械敏感性以及机械力如何控制不同疾病中的免疫反应。最后，我们讨论了如何针对疾病环境和免疫细胞的生物力学特征成为操纵治疗结果的有前途的策略。