Open Access

REVIEW

Crossroads: Pathogenic role and therapeutic targets of neutrophil extracellular traps in rheumatoid arthritis

YANG LI^1,2, JIAN LIU^1,3,*, YUEDI HU^1,2, CHENGZHI CONG^1,2, YIMING CHEN^1,2, QIAO ZHOU^1,2

1 Department of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, 230031, China
2 First Clinical Medical School, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, 230031, China
3 Institute of Rheumatology, Anhui Academy of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, 230031, China

* Corresponding Author: JIAN LIU. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Biomarker Research: Unveiling the Pathways to Precision Medicine)

BIOCELL 2024, 48(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.045862

Received 10 September 2023; Accepted 23 November 2023; Issue published 30 January 2024

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease whose main features include chronic synovial inflammation, bone destruction, and joint degeneration. Neutrophils are often considered to be the first responders to inflammation and are a key presence in the inflammatory milieu of RA. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a meshwork of DNA-histone complexes and proteins released by activated neutrophils, are widely involved in the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases, especially RA, in addition to playing a key role in the neutrophil innate immune response. NETs have been found to be an important source of citrullinated autoantigen antibodies and inflammatory factor release, which can activate RA synovial fibroblasts (FLS) and cause joint damage. This article reviews the role of NETs in the pathophysiology of RA, demonstrating the application of multiple molecules with various therapies, with a view to informing the discovery and development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RA.

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