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The neutrophil is a crucial early defence against microbial infection, but neutrophilic inflammation can result in devastating acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. In the lungs, the neutrophil is a principal part of the pathology of the acute respiratory distress syndrome, and its activation may also be of substantial importance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and some forms of asthma. Induction of neutrophil recruitment in response to microbial attack requires activation of TLR (Toll-like receptor)-based signalling pathways and the concerted actions of multiple cell types, including sentinel cells such as monocytes and macrophages acting together with tissue cell types such as the epithelium or smooth-muscle cell. The present review describes some of these networks and the resulting potential for their targeting in respiratory disease.

Neutrophil purification has traditionally been performed by centrifugation of leucocytes through density gradients. These reliable methods produce populations that are typically >95% pure neutrophils, and have allowed the widespread study of the function of these cells. Our recent work has suggested that residual monocytes may play a more important role than has been previously realized, and suggest that for some functional experiments, further purification of cells is required to understand fully the neutrophil phenotype., (Copyright 2004 Biochemical Society)