Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Biomaterials. 2017 Jun;130:104-110. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.03.015. Epub 2017 Mar 15.
Primary and secondary lymphoid organs are tissues that facilitate differentiation of B and T cells, leading to the induction of adaptive immune responses. These organs are present in the body from birth and are also recognized as locations where self-reactive B and T cells can be eliminated during the natural selection process. Many insights into the mechanisms that control the process of immune cell development and maturation in response to infection come from the analysis of various gene-deficient mice that lack some or all hallmark features of lymphoid tissues. The complexity of such animal models limits our ability to modulate the parameters that control the process of immune cell development, differentiation, and immunomodulation. Engineering functional, living immune tissues using biomaterials can grant researchers the ability to reproduce immunological events with tunable parameters for more rapid development of immunotherapeutics, cell-based therapy, and enhancing our understanding of fundamental biology as well as improving efforts in regenerative medicine. Here the author provides his review and perspective on the bioengineering of primary and secondary lymphoid tissues, and biomaterials innovation needed for the construction of these immune organs in tissue culture plates and on-chip.
初级和次级淋巴器官是促进 B 和 T 细胞分化的组织，导致适应性免疫反应的诱导。这些器官从出生起就存在于体内，也被认为是在自然选择过程中可以消除自身反应性 B 和 T 细胞的位置。许多关于控制感染时免疫细胞发育和成熟过程的机制的见解来自于对缺乏淋巴组织某些或所有标志性特征的各种基因缺陷小鼠的分析。这些动物模型的复杂性限制了我们调节控制免疫细胞发育、分化和免疫调节过程的参数的能力。使用生物材料工程功能性、活体免疫组织可以使研究人员能够重现具有可调参数的免疫学事件，从而更快地开发免疫疗法、基于细胞的疗法，并增强我们对基础生物学的理解，以及改善再生医学方面的努力。作者在这里对初级和次级淋巴组织的生物工程以及在组织培养板和芯片上构建这些免疫器官所需的生物材料创新进行了综述和展望。
