REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Pulmonary Fibrosis: Mechanisms, Immunity and Therapeutic Targets
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Pathology, Basic Medical School, Central South University, Changsha, China
- 2Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Changsha, China
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Pulmonary fibrosis, a heterogeneous and fatal interstitial lung disease, lacks curative therapies and specific biomarkers, posing great clinical challenges. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are key inflammatory mediators in pulmonary fibrosis pathogenesis, yet subtype-specific regulatory mechanisms and targeted therapeutic optimization remain unclear. This review systematically elucidates the distinct NETosis pathways across various subtypes. We further elaborate the multi-layered mechanisms of NETs in mediating inflammation-fibrosis transition, fibroblast activation, and innate-adaptive immune crosstalk, revealing subtype-specific pathological effects of NETs in pulmonary fibrosis. Additionally, we conduct a critical comparison of three NET-targeted therapeutic strategies and their advantages, limitations as well as subtype adaptability. Finally, we summarize the clinical transformation challenges of NET-targeted therapies and propose optimization directions. This review provides a precise theoretical framework for understanding PF immunopathogenesis and offers actionable insights for advancing NET-targeted precision medicine in pulmonary fibrosis.
Keywords: Immunity, Inflammation, IPF, NEtosis, NETs, neutrophil extracellular traps, Pulmonary Fibrosis
Received: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wu and Hu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yongbin Hu
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