Neutrophil extracelullar traps

BACKGROUND: Anti-neutrophil-cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) are auto-antibodies directed against components of neutrophil granulocytes and may be found in various inflammatory conditions, like small-vessel vasculitis or ulcerative colitis (UC). Routine ANCA screening is performed on ethanol-fixed neutrophils using indirect immunofluorescence technique. Yet, how neutrophil granule proteins become available to immunologic presentation is a matter of debate. In recent years, various studies have shown that neutrophils are able to extrude their chromatin decorated with granular proteins as neutrophil extracelullar traps (NETs)...

Neutrophils are one the earliest, crucial innate defenses against innumerable pathogens. Their main microbicidal activities include phagocytosis and degranulation, with many pharmacologically active molecules contributing to inflammation. Recently, a novel antimicrobial mechanism was discovered; the Neutrophil Extracelullar Traps (NETs) formed by extrusion of DNA and associated molecules (histones, elastase, antimicrobial peptides, among others) which trap and kill microorganisms. Since NETs were recently described, research has focused on their induction and microbicidal properties, and recently on disease involvement...