Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA.
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Nat Rev Immunol. 2023 Mar;23(3):174-188. doi: 10.1038/s41577-022-00761-w. Epub 2022 Aug 16.
Immune responses are governed by signals from the tissue microenvironment, and in addition to biochemical signals, mechanical cues and forces arising from the tissue, its extracellular matrix and its constituent cells shape immune cell function. Indeed, changes in biophysical properties of tissue alter the mechanical signals experienced by cells in many disease conditions, in inflammatory states and in the context of ageing. These mechanical cues are converted into biochemical signals through the process of mechanotransduction, and multiple pathways of mechanotransduction have been identified in immune cells. Such pathways impact important cellular functions including cell activation, cytokine production, metabolism, proliferation and trafficking. Changes in tissue mechanics may also represent a new form of 'danger signal' that alerts the innate and adaptive immune systems to the possibility of injury or infection. Tissue mechanics can change temporally during an infection or inflammatory response, offering a novel layer of dynamic immune regulation. Here, we review the emerging field of mechanoimmunology, focusing on how mechanical cues at the scale of the tissue environment regulate immune cell behaviours to initiate, propagate and resolve the immune response.
免疫反应受组织微环境信号的调控，除了生化信号外，组织、细胞外基质及其组成细胞产生的机械线索和力也会影响免疫细胞的功能。事实上，组织生物物理特性的变化会改变许多疾病状态、炎症状态和衰老背景下细胞所经历的机械信号。这些机械线索通过力学转导过程转化为生化信号，在免疫细胞中已经确定了多种力学转导途径。这些途径影响着包括细胞激活、细胞因子产生、代谢、增殖和迁移在内的重要细胞功能。组织力学的改变也可能代表一种新形式的“危险信号”，提醒先天免疫系统和适应性免疫系统注意可能的损伤或感染。在感染或炎症反应过程中，组织力学可能会随时间发生变化，为动态免疫调节提供了一个新的层面。在这里，我们综述了新兴的机械免疫学领域，重点关注组织环境尺度的机械线索如何调节免疫细胞的行为，以启动、传播和解决免疫反应。
