Neutrophil extracellular traps in central nervous system pathologies: A mini review

Abstract

Neutrophils are the first cells to be recruited to sites of acute inflammation and contribute to host defense through phagocytosis, degranulation and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Neutrophils are rarely found in the brain because of the highly selective blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, several diseases disrupt the BBB and cause neuroinflammation. In this regard, neutrophils and NETs have been visualized in the brain after various insults, including traumatic (traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury), infectious (bacterial meningitis), vascular (ischemic stroke), autoimmune (systemic lupus erythematosus), neurodegenerative (multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease), and neoplastic (glioma) causes. Significantly, preventing neutrophil trafficking into the central nervous system or NET production in these diseases alleviates brain pathology and improves neurocognitive outcomes. This review summarizes the major studies on the contribution of NETs to central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Macrophages Coordinate Immune Response to Laser-Induced Injury via Extracellular Traps

“…In its absence, PL stalls in the microvascular bed, contributing to increased flow resistance. Since the first description of ETs more than a decade ago (137), ETosis has been recognized as a significant aspect of damage in various CNS diseases (138, 139). Recent research has uncovered evidence of ETs and their involvement in the pathophysiology of ocular diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and AMD (14, 15, 140).…”

Immune Mechanisms Underpinning Long COVID: Collegium Internationale Allergologicum Update 2024

“…However, an excess of neutrophil infiltration and NET formation within the lungs may contribute to tissue injury and COVID-19 disease severity [31]. In addition, emerging evidence is linking the persistence of NETs to pulmonary fibrosis, cardiovascular abnormalities, and neurological dysfunction in long COVID [32]. NETosis was shown to persist at a greater level in long COVID patients compared to convalescent recovering patients [33].…”

Biomaterial strategies for regulating the neuroinflammatory response

“…61 NETs trap and kill bacteria, but also degrade BBB/BSCB tissue, further compromising its integrity and contributing to the infiltration of additional peripheral immune cells. 68 Monocytes are the second and most abundant type of peripheral immune cells that arrive at the site of injury and are first detected within 24 hours after injury. 69 Monocytes begin to differentiate at the site of injury into macrophages.…”