[Frontiers in Bioscience 13, 51-61, January 1, 2008]

[Frontiers in Bioscience 13, 51-61, January 1, 2008]

Adult and fetal wound healing

Basil M. Hantash, Longmei Zhao, Joseph A. Knowles, H. Peter Lorenz

The Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 257 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Adult cutaneous wound healing: 3.1. Process of wound healing; 3.1.1. Coagulation and inflammation; 3.1.2. Reepithelialization; 3.1.3. Formation of granulation tissue; 3.1.4. Neovascularization; 3.1.5. Wound contraction and remodeling; 3.2. Cytokines; 3.2.1. TGF -β; 3.2.2. PDGF; 3.2.3. EGF; 3.2.4. FGF; 3.2.5. HGF; 3.2.6. VEGF
4. Fibroproliferative scarring: 4.1. Hypertrophic scars and keloid scars; 4.2. Pathogenesis of fibroproliferative scarring; 4.3. Histology of fibroproliferative scars; 4.4. Treatment
5. Fetal cutaneous wound healing: 5.1. Fetal skin; 5.2. Fetal cells; 5.2.1. Fetal platelets and inflammatory cells; 5.2.2. Fibroblasts; 5.3. Cytokines; 5.3.1. TGF-β; 5.3.2. Other growth factors; 5.3.3. Interleukins; 5.4. Molecular control of scarless repair
6. Perspective
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

Mammalian wound healing is an intricate process involving the coordinated interaction of a variety of tissue types and cellular lineages. This is governed by a complex array of physical, biological and chemical signals. In adult tissue, the successful completion of wound healing inevitably results in the formation of scar. However, animal studies of embryonic tissue have shown that early gestation fetal wounds heal with complete restoration of tissue structure and function. The exact mechanisms underlying scarless healing in the fetus remain to be elucidated.