Tissue Destruction by Neutrophils

WITH increasing frequency, the human neutrophil is being implicated as a mediator of tissue-destructive events in inflammatory diseases ranging from rheumatoid arthritis and myocardial reperfusion injury to respiratory distress syndromes, blistering skin disorders, and ulcerative colitis.1 , 2 In each of these diseases, as well as a variety of other acute inflammatory disorders, important components of these pathologic processes are being linked to the neutrophil's ability to release a complex assortment of agents that can destroy normal cells and dissolve connective tissues. Although these toxins normally defend the host against invading microbes, the neutrophil has little intrinsic ability to differentiate between foreign . . .