The neutrophil life cycle

Abstract

Neutrophils are recognized as an essential part of the innate immune response, but an active debate still exists regarding the life cycle of these cells. Neutrophils first differentiate in the bone marrow through progenitor intermediaries before entering the blood, in a process that gauges the extramedullary pool size. Once believed to be directly eliminated in the marrow, liver, and spleen, neutrophils, after circulating for less than 1 day, are now known to redistribute into multiple tissues with poorly understood kinetics. In this review, we provide an update on the dynamic distribution of neutrophils across tissues in health and disease, and emphasize differences between humans and model organisms. We further highlight issues to be addressed to exploit the unique features of neutrophils in the clinic.