Cell therapy approaches that employ engineered mammalian cells for on-demand production of therapeutic agents in the patient’s body are moving beyond proof-of-concept in translational medicine. The therapeutic cells can be customized to sense user-defined signals, process them, and respond in a programmable and predictable way. In this paper, we introduce the available tools and strategies employed to design therapeutic cells. Then, various approaches to control cell behaviors, including open-loop and closed-loop systems, are discussed. We also highlight therapeutic applications of engineered cells for early diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in the clinic and in experimental disease models. Finally, we consider emerging technologies such as digital devices and their potential for incorporation into future cell-based therapies.

利用工程化哺乳动物细胞在患者体内按需生产治疗剂的细胞治疗方法正在超越转化医学的概念验证。治疗细胞可以定制，以感知用户定义的信号，处理它们，并以可编程和可预测的方式做出反应。在本文中，我们介绍了用于设计治疗细胞的可用工具和策略。然后，讨论了控制细胞行为的各种方法，包括开环和闭环系统。我们还重点介绍了工程细胞在临床和实验疾病模型中早期诊断和治疗各种疾病的治疗应用。最后，我们考虑数字设备等新兴技术及其融入未来细胞疗法的潜力。