Scientist Stories: Mikala Egeblad, Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Disease

21 Mar 2023 · 34 min
34:18

In this seminar, Mikala Egeblad presents a comprehensive overview of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), detailing their discovery, biology, and emerging roles in disease. She begins with intravital imaging of mouse lungs, showing that highly metastatic breast cancer cells (41) are surrounded by DNA‑rich NET structures and active neutrophil elastase, whereas non‑metastatic cells (407) are not. Using DNase‑coated nanoparticles, she demonstrates that degrading NETs markedly reduces lung metastases, establishing NETs as promoters of metastatic colonization. She then describes how NET‑associated proteases (neutrophil elastase and MMP9) cleave laminin, exposing an epitope that activates integrins on dormant cancer cells, thereby awakening them to proliferate. Stress‑induced NET formation is explored through chronic restraint and transport stress models, which increase plasma NET levels and dramatically boost metastatic burden; DNase treatment mitigates these effects. Shifting to infectious disease, Egeblad reports rapid collaboration during the COVID‑19 pandemic that identified abundant NETs in autopsied lungs and patient plasma, linking NETs to acute respiratory distress, mucus accumulation, thrombosis, and poor outcomes. She outlines ongoing clinical trials targeting NETs via DNase, PAD4 inhibition, IL‑1β blockade (Anakinra), colchicine, and dipyridamole, emphasizing the need for mechanistic insight to improve specificity. The talk concludes with a discussion of open questions, challenges in studying short‑lived neutrophils, and the broader relevance of NET research across cancer, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases.

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