ABSTRACT
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the lung in the worldwide. With the deeper development of the study, people gradually realized that COPD also with the characteristics of autoimmune diseases. However, the initiation mechanism of acquired immunity in COPD is still unclear. Chronic neutrophilic inflammation of the airways is a distinct feature of COPD. The latest research shows that neutrophils can form a reticular substance composed of DNA in the infected state-NETs, which can not only give full play to the anti infection effect, but also cause tissue damage. In some autoimmune diseases, it can even initiate the acquired immune responses. This paper will briefly review the recent advances of NETs in the pathogenesis of COPD and its potential role as an anti-inflammatory target for COPD, so as to provide new ideas for the anti-inflammatory treatment of COPD in the future.