Abstract
The release of extracellular traps (ETs) is a recently described mechanism of innate immune response to infection. Although ETs have been intensely investigated in the context of neutrophil antimicrobial effector mechanisms, other immune cells such as mast cells, eosinophils, and macrophages can also release these structures. The different ETs have several features in common, regardless of the type of cells from which they originated, including a DNA backbone with embedded antimicrobial peptides, proteases, and histones. However, they also exhibit remarkable individual differences such as the type of sub-cellular compartments from where the DNA backbone originates (e.g., nucleus or mitochondria), the proportion of responding cells within the pool, and/or the molecular mechanism/s underlying the ETs formation. This review summarizes the knowledge accumulated in recent years regarding the complex and expanding world of ETs and their role in immune function with particular emphasis on the role of other immune cells rather than on neutrophils exclusively.
Highlights
Extracellular traps (ETs) were first described in 2004 in a ground breaking publication by Brinkmann and colleagues who observed the released of web-like structures by neutrophils after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), interleukin 8 (IL-8), platelet-mediated neutrophil activation (Clark et al, 2007) and after exposure to Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria (Brinkmann et al, 2004)
This review summarizes the knowledge accumulated in recent years regarding the complex and expanding world of extracellular traps (ETs) and their role in immune function with particular emphasis on the role of other immune cells rather than on neutrophils exclusively
Besides the backbone formed by DNA and histones, ETs comprise a number of molecules which impart an antimicrobial effect including elastase, cathepsin G, proteinases or defensins, bacterial permeability increasing protein (BPI), or myeloperoxidase (MPO; Brinkmann et al, 2004; Papayannopoulos et al, 2010)
Summary
Extracellular traps (ETs) were first described in 2004 in a ground breaking publication by Brinkmann and colleagues who observed the released of web-like structures by neutrophils after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), interleukin 8 (IL-8), platelet-mediated neutrophil activation (Clark et al, 2007) and after exposure to Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria (Brinkmann et al, 2004). The composition of these structures has been intensively investigated during recent years. THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF EXTRACELLULAR TRAPS FORMATION While significant progress has been made in unraveling the cellular processes that are taking place during the formation of ETs, many www.frontiersin.org
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