Neutrophils are the largest population of circulating leukocytes and the first responder against invading pathogens or sterile danger signals. Sophisticated machineries help them play critical roles in immunity and inflammation, including phagocytosis, superoxide production, cytokine and chemokine production, degranulation, and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Neutrophils routinely patrol the liver sinusoids and can be recruited into the liver rapidly during acute liver infection or injury, serving as the principal phagocyte type responsible for pathogen clearance and contributing to liver restoration; while the overwhelming activation of neutrophils can also induce liver damage. Unresolving acute inflammation generally led to chronic liver diseases. Neutrophils are positively or negatively involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases, either by direct effects or by modulating liver microenvironment.
Recent work has revealed the phenotypic heterogeneity of neutrophils in many conditions. The development and maturation of neutrophil, and its mobilization from the bone marrow is responsible for this heterogeneity, showing space, time and disease-context dependent. Recent work also revealed functional plasticity of neutrophils, especially in cancer. Limited knowledge is obtained regarding the heterogeneity and functional plasticity in chronic liver diseases.
In chronic liver diseases, such as liver fibrosis, alcoholic liver disease, NAFLD, and liver cancer, neutrophils are reported to play important roles via acting on liver parenchymal cells directly or by modulalting liver microenvironment. The crosstalk between neutrophils and liver microenvironment (e.g., the inflammatory cells, endothelial cells, hepatic stellate cells, and parenchymal cells) is far from clear. The phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of neutrophils has been recognized in recent years; however, it is not well elucidated in chronic liver diseases. In addition, neutrophils are highly sex dimorphic throughout life, and aging also exert potent effects on neutrophil immune functions, but these two aspects of neutrophil biology is also not clear in chronic liver diseases.
This research topic aims to highlight the potential role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of chronic liver diseases. We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review and Mini-Review articles that cover, but are not limited to the following topics:
• The crosstalk between neutrophils and components of liver microenvironment
• The heterogeneity of neutrophils in chronic liver diseases
• The functional plasticity and associated mechnisms in chronic liver diseases
• The sexual dimorphism of neutrophils in chronic liver diseases
• The effects of aging on neutrophil functions
• New technologies in neutrophil biology
• Targeting neutropils (or associated signal pathways) in treatment of chronic liver diseases
Keywords: Neutrophil, liver fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, NAFLD
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
