Neutrophil extracellular traps promote neuronal ferroptosis through STING-mediated AMPK dysregulation after traumatic brain injury
Guihong Shi, Jianye Xu, Yue Tian, Yiyao Cao, Shaochen Yu, Qifeng Li, Luyuan Zhang, Kaiyuan Huang, Rui Tan, Xiujue Zheng, Renya Zhan · 2026
Read Neutrophil extracellular traps promote neuronal ferroptosis through STING-mediated AMPK dysregulation after traumatic brain injury by Guihong Shi, Jianye Xu, Yue Tian, Yiyao Cao, Shaochen Yu, Qifeng Li, Luyuan Zhang, Kaiyuan Huang, Rui Tan, Xiujue Zheng, Renya Zhan (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13540453.txt.
Description
Shi and colleagues uncover a chain reaction by which immune cell debris worsens brain damage after traumatic injury, in 2026 neuroscience research. Neutrophils, first-responder immune cells, can eject their DNA as webs called neutrophil extracellular traps. In injured patients, these traps accumulated alongside markers of ferroptosis, an iron-driven form of neuron death, and tracked with injury severity. The team used a mouse injury model to test whether the traps cause the neuron death rather than accompany it.
Removing the traps, either by disabling the enzyme PAD4 that builds them or by digesting their DNA, sharply reduced lipid damage in neurons and improved recovery in mice. The trap DNA switched on a sensor called STING inside neurons, which suppressed antioxidant defenses and let peroxidation run. Blocking STING, or activating the AMPK pathway, counteracted the damage and preserved neurons. Shi names neutrophil-driven oxidative stress a promising treatment target.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Guihong Shi, Jianye Xu, Yue Tian, Yiyao Cao, Shaochen Yu, Qifeng Li, Luyuan Zhang, Kaiyuan Huang, Rui Tan, Xiujue Zheng, Renya Zhan |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 92 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |