Potential roles of neutrophils in regulating intestinal mucosal inflammation of inflammatory bowel disease

ABSTRACT Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), comprising of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, are inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by chronically relapsing mucosal inflammation. Neutrophils, as the effector cells of acute inflammation, have long been reported to play a role in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis and pathogenesis of IBD. At the early stage of mucosal inflammation in patients with IBD, neutrophils flood into intestinal mucosa, phagocytose pathogenic microbes, and promote mucosal healing and resolution of inflammation. However, large numbers of neutrophils infiltrating in the inflamed mucosa and accumulating in the epithelia cause damage of mucosal architecture, compromised epithelial barrier and production of inflammatory mediators. In this review we discusses the critical roles of neutrophils in modulating innate and adaptive immune responses in intestinal mucosa, and, importantly, clarifies the potential roles of neutrophils related to their production of inflammatory mediators, transenthothelial and transepithelial migration into intestinal mucosa, and the underlying mechanisms in regulating mucosal inflammation of IBD. Moreover, we also describe a new subset of neutrophils (i.e., CD177+ neutrophils) and illustrate its protective role in modulating intestinal mucosal immune responses in IBD.
Source: Journal of Digestive Diseases - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Review article Source Type: research