Chiu Alvis, Rutkowski Joseph M, Zhang Qixu, Zhao Feng
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, 5045 Emerging Technologies Building 3120 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-3120, USA.
Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Medical Research and Education Building, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX, 77807-3260, USA.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Mar;14(6):e2403551. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202403551. Epub 2025 Jan 13.
The lymphatic system, which regulates inflammation and fluid homeostasis, is damaged in various diseases including myocardial infarction (MI) and breast-cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). Mounting evidence suggests that restoring tissue fluid drainage and clearing excess immune cells by regenerating damaged lymphatic vessels can aid in cardiac repair and lymphedema amelioration. Current treatments primarily address symptoms rather than underlying causes due to a lack of regenerative therapies, highlighting the importance of the lymphatic system as a promising novel therapeutic target. Here cutting-edge research on engineered lymphatic tissues, growth factor therapies, and cell-based approaches designed to enhance lymphangiogenesis and restore lymphatic function is explored. Special focus is placed on how therapies with potential for immediate lymphatic reconstruction, originally designed for treating BCRL, can be applied to MI to augment cardiac repair and reduce heart failure risk. The integration of these novel treatments can significantly improve patient outcomes by promoting lymphatic repair, preventing pathological remodeling, and offering new avenues for managing lymphatic-associated diseases.
淋巴系统负责调节炎症和液体平衡，在包括心肌梗死（MI）和乳腺癌相关淋巴水肿（BCRL）在内的各种疾病中都会受损。越来越多的证据表明，通过再生受损淋巴管来恢复组织液引流和清除多余免疫细胞，有助于心脏修复和改善淋巴水肿。由于缺乏再生疗法，目前的治疗主要针对症状而非根本原因，这凸显了淋巴系统作为一个有前景的新型治疗靶点的重要性。本文探讨了关于工程化淋巴组织、生长因子疗法以及旨在增强淋巴管生成和恢复淋巴功能的细胞疗法的前沿研究。特别关注原本用于治疗BCRL的具有立即进行淋巴重建潜力的疗法如何应用于MI，以增强心脏修复并降低心力衰竭风险。这些新型治疗方法的整合可以通过促进淋巴修复、预防病理重塑以及为管理淋巴相关疾病提供新途径，显著改善患者预后。
