2026 Volume 41 Issue 1 Pages 23-33
Cell-based therapeutics have emerged as a transformative modality in modern regenerative medicine, offering the potential to repair or reconstruct damaged tissues that cannot regenerate spontaneously. Lymph nodes are a representative example of such organs, and once they are destroyed by surgery, radiation, or congenital defects, their highly organized immune microarchitecture cannot be restored by natural healing. Consequently, secondary lymphedema and other lymphatic disorders remain major unresolved clinical challenges. Recent progress in drug delivery system (DDS) technologies has expanded the functional capabilities of cell-based therapeutics, enabling enhanced engraftment, controlled molecular release, tissue regeneration, and microenvironment modulation. These advances have opened the possibility of reconstructing complex lymphatic structures using engineered cells and tissues. Based on the concept of DDS technology, we successfully developed centrifuge-based bioengineered lymphatic tissue (CeLyT), which regenerated highly organized and functionally competent lymph node-like tissues in vivo. This review summarizes the pathophysiology of lymph node dysfunction and lymphedema, outlines current therapeutic limitations, and discusses emerging cell-based and DDS-integrated approaches for lymphatic regeneration.
