• Hongxin Kang, Yue Yang, Lv Zhu, Xianlin Zhao, Juan Li, Wenfu Tang, and Meihua Wan.
• Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
• Chin. Med. J. 2022 Dec 5; 135 (23): 277327842773-2784.

AbstractSevere acute pancreatitis (SAP) is a life-threatening acute abdominal disease with two peaks of death: the first in the early stage, characterized by systemic inflammatory response-associated organ failure; and the second in the late stage, characterized by infectious complications. Neutrophils are the main immune cells participating in the whole process of SAP. In addition to the traditional recognition of neutrophils as the origination of chemokine and cytokine cascades or phagocytosis and degranulation of pathogens, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) also play an important roles in inflammatory reactions. We reviewed the role of NETs in the occurrence and development of SAP and its fatal complications, including multiple organs injury, infected pancreatic necrosis, and thrombosis. This review provides novel insights into the involvement of NETs throughout the entire process of SAP, showing that targeting NETs might be a promising strategy in SAP treatment. However, precision therapeutic options targeting NETs in different situations require further investigation.Copyright © 2023 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.

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