Ovadia · Journal of leukocyte biology 2023 · narrative review · n=?

The circadian neutrophil, inside-out.

Cited 27 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic concepts and theoretical models without primary empirical human data or systematic review methodology.

PubMed 36999376 · doi:10.1093/jleuko/qiad038 · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

This is a narrative review describing how cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic circadian rhythms regulate neutrophil physiology and function across immune defense and homeostatic roles. The authors also synthesize concepts from other cell types to theorize about unexplored areas in neutrophil topology, metabolism, and tissue clock regulation.

What was found

The abstract reports no empirical numbers or quantitative findings. It presents a conceptual framework of diurnal oscillations governing neutrophil biology and outlines theoretical relationships between rhythmic neutrophil behavior, cellular metabolism, and tissue-level circadian clocks.

Why it matters

It organizes current thinking on the intersection of chronobiology and innate immunity, highlighting how rhythmic neutrophil activity extends beyond infection defense to baseline tissue regulation.

Limits

As a non-systematic narrative review, it carries risk of selection bias and lacks quantitative synthesis. No primary clinical or experimental data are reported in the abstract, and several proposed mechanisms rely on extrapolation and speculation from non-neutrophil cell types.

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