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Review
. 2021 Jan:90:107233.
doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.107233. Epub 2020 Nov 30.

Neutrophils and COVID-19: The road so far

Luiz Henrique Agra Cavalcante-Silva  1 , Deyse Cristina Madruga Carvalho  1 , Éssia de Almeida Lima  1 , José G F M Galvão  1 , Juliane S de França da Silva  1 , José Marreiro de Sales-Neto  1 , Sandra Rodrigues-Mascarenhas  2
Affiliations
Review

Neutrophils and COVID-19: The road so far

Luiz Henrique Agra Cavalcante-Silva et al. Int Immunopharmacol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

The SARS-Cov2 infection triggers a multisystem inflammatory disorder, knowing as COVID-19, a pandemic disease. This disease is characterized by acute respiratory distress syndrome, cytokine-driven hyperinflammation, and leukocytes count changes. The innate immune response has been linked to COVID-19 immunopathogenesis (e.g., dysfunctional IFN response and myeloid inflammation). In this regard, neutrophils have been highlighted as essential effector cells in the development of COVID-19. This review summarized the significant finds about neutrophils and its effector mechanisms (e.g., neutrophils enzymes and cytokines, neutrophil extracellular traps) in COVID-19 so far.

Keywords: Chemokines; Inflammation; NETs; SARS-CoV2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
The neutrophil role in the lung tissue during infection by SARS-CoV-2. (1) The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is elevated in the bloodstream. (2) The migrated neutrophils contribute to storm cytokines formation and release other mediators (e.g., elastase neutrophilic). (3) SARS-CoV-2 infection promotes neutrophil extracellular traps release, which can contribute to lung damage and (4) immunothrombosis. These many steps may be potential therapeutic targets. Several other cells and mediators are involved in COVID-19 immunopathology, but they are suppressed in this figure to highlight the neutrophil role. The figure was created with BioRender.com .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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