Prolonged exposure to neutrophil extracellular traps can induce mitochondrial damage in macrophages and dendritic cells

Neutrophils are one the earliest, crucial innate defenses against innumerable pathogens. Their main microbicidal activities include phagocytosis and degranulation, with many pharmacologically active molecules contributing to inflammation. Recently, a novel antimicrobial mechanism was discovered; the Neutrophil Extracelullar Traps (NETs) formed by extrusion of DNA and associated molecules (histones, elastase, antimicrobial peptides, among others) which trap and kill microorganisms. Since NETs were recently described, research has focused on their induction and microbicidal properties, and recently on disease involvement. However, the functional consequences of NETs interacting with other immune cells, either resident or recruited during early inflammation, have not been assessed.