Research progress in role and mechanism of neutrophils in tissue repair / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Damage to skin, muscle, bone and nerve tissues can result in various degrees of damage to the body, leading to organ dysfunction even life-threatening. To restore the structure and function of the damaged tissues, various immune cells and histocytes have successively participated in the tissue repair process. As the terminally differentiated white blood cells, neutrophils can remove necrotic tissue, debris and pathogens via phagocytosis and release of antimicrobial peptides after tissue injury to provide conditions for subsequent tissue repair process. However, enhanced neutrophils recruitment as well as excessive inflammatory response may also aggravate tissue damage. In recent years, more and more evidences indicate that neutrophils display plasticity and heterogeneity and that play critical roles in the initiation of tissue repair, promotion of angiogenesis, regulation of cell proliferation and so on. Herein, the authors review the recruitment, phenotype and function, role and outcome of neutrophils during tissue repair so as to provide references for future studies.