A single-cell atlas of human neutrophils reveals neutrophil heterogeneity across health and disease.

A single-cell atlas of human neutrophils reveals 43 distinct subsets with functional differences across health and disease, and predicts mortality and cancer outcomes.

• Why it matters: Understanding neutrophil heterogeneity is crucial because these cells play diverse roles in health and disease, yet their detailed subtypes and functions remain incompletely characterized, limiting diagnostic and therapeutic advances.
• What they did: The study integrated transcriptome data from 1 million neutrophils across 781 samples and 43 datasets to identify neutrophil subsets, compare species features, and analyze bulk blood transcriptomes from 40 datasets, totaling 17,023 profiles.
• The result: Neutrophil signatures predicted mortality in acutely ill patients, were linked to cancer diagnosis and survival, and correlated with metabolic dysfunction and long-term mortality, supporting their role in immune risk stratification.