Skin repair and scar formation: the central role of TGF-beta.
Wound healing is a complex process that we have only recently begun to understand. Central to wound repair is transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), a cytokine secreted by several different cell types involved in healing. TGF-beta 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-beta in normal and impaired wound-healing models. It also explores TGF-beta activity in scarless foetal wound healing. Knowledge of TGF-beta function in scarless repair is critical to improving healing in clinical scenarios, such as diabetic wounds and hypertrophic scars.
Department of Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, LA 90095, USA. sbeanes@ucla.edu
Steven R
SR
Beanes
Catherine
C
Dang
Chia
C
Soo
Kang
K
Ting
D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta