Neutrophils in Cancer: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Figure 5

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) can induce tumor progression. Tumor-associated neutrophils can produce NETs (blue lines), which are chromatin fibers decorated with proteins from neutrophil granules (red circles). (a) Tumor cells trapped in these NETs would get exposed to high local concentrations of neutrophil elastase and other factors that induce cell proliferation. (b) NETs could also provide large amounts of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and serine proteases that would release vascular endothelial growth factor to promote angiogenesis. (c) NETs released on the vascular endothelium in response to inflammation could trap tumor cells allowing them to more easily arrest and extravasate the blood circulation into prometastatic sites.

(a)

(b)

(c)