Advances in the Mechanism of Action of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Gastrointestinal Tumors: A Review

INTRODUCTION: Neutrophils are important immune cells in the body, extremely abundant, phagocytic and bactericidal, and usually involved in the defense against infectious diseases as immune become. However, a new reticulum structure has been discovered: neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which consists of various components such as DNA and proteins, etc. Current studies have found that NETs are closely associated with various diseases such as immune diseases, inflammation and tumors, and the study of the development and metastasis of gastrointestinal tumors has become a recent research hotspot. The clinical significance of NETs has been gradually highlighted, especially in the area of immunosuppression. METHODS: We reviewed a large amount of relevant literature, summarized the latest detection methods of NETs, explored the mechanism of NETs in gastrointestinal tumors and summarized the latest hotspot directions. RESULTS: NETs are involved in the development of gastrointestinal tumors, and are closely related to the proliferation and metastasis of gastrointestinal tumors. Higher levels of NETs are associated with poor prognosis of gastrointestinal tumors, promote local growth of tumors through various pathways, participate in tumor-related systemic injury, and promote tumor growth and metastasis by enhancing the mitochondrial function of tumor cells and awakening dormant tumor cells. DISCUSSION: NETs are highly expressed in tumors, and tumors and their microenvironment can promote the production of NETs, providing new ideas for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. In this paper, we describe the basic information about NETs, explore the research mechanisms related to NETs in gastrointestinal tumors, and prospectively explore the clinical potential of hotspots and inhibitors related to NETs for gastrointestinal tumors, in order to provide new ideas and targets for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tumors.