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Skin repair and scar formation: the central role of TGF-β

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2004

Steven R. Beanes
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, LA 90095, USA.
Catherine Dang
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, LA 90095, USA.
Chia Soo
Affiliation:
Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, LA 90095, USA.
Kang Ting
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, LA 90095, USA. Laboratory for Craniofacial Anomalies, Dental and Craniofacial Research Institute, UCLA, LA, USA.

Abstract

Wound healing is a complex process that we have only recently begun to understand. Central to wound repair is transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), a cytokine secreted by several different cell types involved in healing. TGF-β has diverse effects, depending upon the tissue studied. This review focuses on healing in skin, particularly the phases of cutaneous wound repair and the role of TGF-β in normal and impaired wound-healing models. It also explores TGF-β activity in scarless foetal wound healing. Knowledge of TGF-β function in scarless repair is critical to improving healing in clinical scenarios, such as diabetic wounds and hypertrophic scars.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2003

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