J Appl Biomed 16:1-9, 2018 | DOI: 10.1016/j.jab.2017.10.002

NETosis - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in inflammation

Lucia Lauková^*, Barbora Konečná

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Molecular Biomedicine, Bratislava, Slovakia

Neutrophils play an important role as the central mediators of the innate immune defence response, providing the first line of host protection. It was shown that these cells can trap and kill various microorganisms through different ways. One of them is a release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) composed of chromatin fibrils and antimicrobial proteins. There is the evidence that the release of NETs does not have only a beneficial effect. NETs can trap and kill microorganisms and pathogens, however on the other hand the same pathway can also cause the damage of the organism by various mechanisms. NETs participate in the pathogenesis of a lot of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, such as thrombosis, atherosclerosis, cystic fibrosis, periodontitis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and others. The aim of this review is to summarize information about the release of NETs and their beneficial, but also detrimental effect during various diseases. The better characterization and understanding of the dual role of NETosis during these diseases is necessary for the early diagnosis and more effective treatment.

Keywords: NETs; NETosis; Extracellular DNA; Inflammation

Received: February 18, 2017; Revised: June 23, 2017; Accepted: October 12, 2017; Published: February 1, 2018  Show citation