Spinal cord injuries remain a critical issue in experimental and
clinical research nowadays, and it is now well accepted that the immune response and
subsequent inflammatory reactions are of significant importance in regulating the
damage/repair balance after injury. The role of macrophages in such nervous system
lesions now becomes clearer and their contribution in the wound healing process has
been largely described in the last few years. Conversely, the contribution of
neutrophils has traditionally been considered as detrimental and unfavorable to
proper tissue regeneration, even if there are very few studies available on their
precise impact in spinal cord lesions. Indeed, recent data show that neutrophils are
required for promoting functional recovery after spinal cord trauma. In this review,
we gathered recent evidence concerning the role of neutrophils in spinal cord
injuries but also in some other neurological diseases, highlighting the need for
further understanding the different mechanisms involved in spinal cord injury and
repair.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-014-0150-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized
users.
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