Neutrophils are the most abundant innate immune cell and are equipped with highly destructive molecular cargo. As such, these cells were long thought to be short-lived killer cells that unleash their full cytotoxic programs on pathogens following infection and on host bystander cells after sterile injury. However, this view of neutrophils is overly simplistic and as a result is outdated. Numerous studies now collectively highlight neutrophils as far more complex and having a host of homeostatic and tissue-reparative functions. In this review, we summarize these underappreciated roles across organs and injury models.
Keywords: granulocytes; immunity; inflammation; steady state.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Society for Immunology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.