Beneficial suicide: why neutrophils die to make NETs
Abstract
Neutrophils are one of the main types of effector cell in the innate immune system and were first shown to effectively kill microorganisms by phagocytosis more than 100 years ago. Recently, however, it has been found that stimulated neutrophils can also produce extracellular structures called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that capture and kill microorganisms. This Progress article gives an overview of the structure, function and generation of NETs, and their role in infections.
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An age-associated alteration in pathogen-mediated destruction by NETs further contributes to impaired bacterial clearance and may underlie increased susceptibility of older persons to infection.
“An age-associated alteration in pathogen-mediated destruction by NETs further contributes to impaired bacterial clearance and may underlie increase susceptibility of older persons to infection (122).”
From Aging and Lung Disease (2020) · cites this paper as [122]
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- Authors
- Brinkmann, V., & Zychlinsky, A.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Society (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Brinkmann, Volker
- Zychlinsky, Arturo
- Venue
- Nature Reviews Microbiology
- Published
- 2007-08
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 577-582
- ISSN
- 1740-1526 (ISSN-L)
- 1740-1534
- OpenAlex
- W2048801137
- Cited by
- 937
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 62 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 64 · 2016: 62 · 2015: 70 · 2014: 65 · 2013: 56 · 2012: 59
- FWCI
- 3.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Reviews Microbiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Neutrophil, Myeloperoxidase and Oxidative Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Blood disorders and treatments
- Keywords
- neutrophil extracellular traps, neutrophils, innate immunity, microbial killing, chromatin, phagocytosis, infection
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Bacteria, Cattle, Chromatin, Communicable Diseases, Extracellular Space, Fungi, Humans, Immunity, Innate, Microscopy, Electron, Neutrophils, Rabbits, Cell Death, Neutrophil Activation, Mice
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