title: Palatogenesis and cutaneous repair: A two-headed coin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The reparative mechanism that operates following post-natal cutaneous injury is a fundamental survival function that requires a well-orchestrated series of molecular and cellular events. At the end, the body will have closed the hole using processes like cellular proliferation, migration, differentiation and fusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These processes are similar to those occurring during embryogenesis and tissue morphogenesis. Palatogenesis, the formation of the palate from two independent palatal shelves growing towards each other and fusing, intuitively, shares many similarities with the closure of a cutaneous wound from the two migrating epithelial fronts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this review, we summarize the current information on cutaneous development, wound healing, palatogenesis and orofacial clefting and propose that orofacial clefting and wound healing are conserved processes that share common pathways and gene regulatory networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: Leah C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Biggs
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Goudy
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunnwald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010159:Palate / Q000196:embryology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: orofacial clefting; palatogenesis; wound healing