title: Fracture healing as a post-natal developmental process: molecular, spatial, and temporal aspects of its regulation.
abstract: Fracture healing is a specialized post-natal repair process that recapitulates aspects of embryological skeletal development. While many of the molecular mechanisms that control cellular differentiation and growth during embryogenesis recur during fracture healing, these processes take place in a post-natal environment that is unique and distinct from those which exist during embryogenesis. This Prospect Article will highlight a number of central biological processes that are believed to be crucial in the embryonic differentiation and growth of skeletal tissues and review the functional role of these processes during fracture healing. Specific aspects of fracture healing that will be considered in relation to embryological development are: (1) the anatomic structure of the fracture callus as it evolves during healing; (2) the origins of stem cells and morphogenetic signals that facilitate the repair process; (3) the role of the biomechanical environment in controlling cellular differentiation during repair; (4) the role of three key groups of soluble factors, pro-inflammatory cytokines, the TGF-beta superfamily, and angiogenic factors, during repair; and (5) the relationship of the genetic components that control bone mass and remodeling to the mechanisms that control skeletal tissue repair in response to fracture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02118-2526, USA. lgersten@bu.edu
authors.forename: Louis C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Gerstenfeld
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Cullinane
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Dana T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Einhorn
mesh_terms: D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D001720:Birth Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016723:Bone Remodeling; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002146:Bony Callus / Q000503:physiopathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006132:Growth Plate / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D045726:Metalloproteases / Q000502:physiology; D010012:Osteogenesis; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D045726:Metalloproteases