Neutrophil Dynamics in Epithelial Inflammation
Summary
Neutrophils constitute the foremost arm of innate immunity within epithelial tissues, migrating swiftly from blood vessels through endothelial and interstitial compartments before breaching epithelial barriers to neutralise pathogens or clear cellular debris. This orchestrated journey relies on chemotactic gradients, sequential engagement of adhesion molecules and dynamic cytoskeletal remodelling. While essential for host defence and tissue repair, excessive or dysregulated neutrophil accumulation disrupts barrier integrity and fuels chronic inflammation in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Recent advances in live imaging and sophisticated in vitro models have illuminated the molecular checkpoints that govern neutrophil recruitment, transmigration and resolution, unveiling novel strategies to restore homeostasis at mucosal surfaces globally.
Research from Nature Portfolio
One foundational study established a co-culture model of primary human airway epithelial barriers differentiated at an air–liquid interface and combined this with micro-optical coherence tomography to visualise neutrophil transepithelial migration in real time, delineating the sequential steps of chemotactic crossing and epithelial breach. A complementary investigation exploited four-dimensional micro-optical coherence tomography in an intestinal co-culture system, demonstrating how selective perturbation of β2‐integrin engagement alters neutrophil passage across the epithelium, thereby quantifying migratory kinetics and revealing fine-scale interactions between neutrophils and epithelial cells under defined chemoattractant gradients.
Neutrophil Dynamics in Epithelial Inflammation publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in neutrophil dynamics in epithelial inflammation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Transepithelial migration: Movement of neutrophils across an epithelial cell layer into underlying tissue.
Chemotactic gradient: A concentration difference of signalling molecules that directs cell movement.
β2-Integrin (CD11b/CD18): A cell-surface receptor complex mediating firm adhesion of neutrophils to endothelium and epithelium.
Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1): An endothelial and epithelial ligand for neutrophil integrins that supports leukocyte adhesion and migration.
Micro-optical coherence tomography (μOCT): A high-resolution imaging technique that captures four-dimensional cellular dynamics in live tissue or co-culture systems.
Sialylation: The enzymatic addition of sialic acid residues to glycoproteins, influencing neutrophil adhesion and signalling.
References
- Macrophage-endothelial cell crosstalk orchestrates neutrophil recruitment in inflamed mucosa. Journal of Clinical Investigation (2023).
- Sialylation regulates neutrophil transepithelial migration, CD11b/CD18 activation, and intestinal mucosal inflammatory function. JCI Insight (2023).
- ISM1 suppresses LPS-induced acute lung injury and post-injury lung fibrosis in mice. Molecular Medicine (2022).
- Illuminating dynamic neutrophil trans-epithelial migration with micro-optical coherence tomography. Scientific Reports (2017).
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