Immunoengineering is a rapidly growing and interdisciplinary field focused on developing tools to study and understand the immune system, then employing that knowledge to modulate immune response for the treatment of disease. Because of its roles in housing a substantial fraction of the body's lymphocytes, in facilitating immune cell trafficking, and direct immune modulatory functions, among others, the lymphatic system plays multifaceted roles in immune regulation. In this review, the potential for biomaterials to be applied to regulate the lymphatic system and its functions to achieve immunomodulation and the treatment of disease are described. Three related processes-lymphangiogenesis, lymphatic vessel contraction, and lymph node remodeling-are specifically explored. The molecular regulation of each process and their roles in pathologies are briefly outlined, with putative therapeutic targets and the lymphatic remodeling that can result from disease highlighted. Applications of biomaterials that harness these pathways for the treatment of disease via immunomodulation are discussed.

中文翻译：

---

免疫工程中调节淋巴功能的生物材料。

免疫工程是一个快速发展的跨学科领域，致力于开发研究和理解免疫系统的工具，然后利用这些知识来调节免疫应答以治疗疾病。由于其在容纳人体大部分淋巴细胞，促进免疫细胞运输以及直接的免疫调节功能等方面的作用，淋巴系统在免疫调节中起着多方面的作用。在这篇综述中，描述了将生物材料应用于调节淋巴系统的潜力及其实现免疫调节和治疗疾病的功能。特别探讨了三个相关过程-淋巴管生成，淋巴管收缩和淋巴结重塑。简要概述了每个过程的分子调节及其在病理中的作用，并突出了可能的治疗靶标和可能因疾病引起的淋巴重塑。讨论了利用这些途径通过免疫调节治疗疾病的生物材料的应用。