Neutrophils in pediatric autoimmune disease

As first immune responders, neutrophils are essential mediators of host defense, and also contribute to chronic pathologic inflammation at the crossroads of innate and adaptive immunity. In this review, we will highlight the current understanding of the role of neutrophils in pediatric rheumatology, with a focus on juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and lupus.

In inflamed tissues, neutrophils extrude neutrophil extracellular traps containing autoantigen that potentially drives lupus and rheumatoid factor-positive JIA. However, the contribution of neutrophil extracellular traps to pathogenesis remains an area of intense investigation. In JIA joints, neutrophils are activated to such an extent that associated circulating levels of S100A proteins may serve as biomarkers, correlating with disease activity, predicting response to treatment and heralding flares. Beyond the effects of 'normal' activation, neutrophils in JIA and lupus display dysregulation in gene expression, subset activation, and apoptosis.

The role of neutrophils in pediatric rheumatology is an understudied area, but garnering increasing attention. Although clearly implicated in JIA and lupus, the specific contributions of neutrophils to pathogenesis and the use of neutrophil activity surrogates as biomarkers require further study. Clarification of these outstanding issues will have implications for diagnosis and treatment of pediatric rheumatologic conditions.