Gurtner GC, Werner S, Barrandon Y, Longaker MT, et al.
Nature. Date of publication 2008 May 15;volume 453(7193):314-21.
1. Nature. 2008 May 15;453(7193):314-21. doi: 10.1038/nature07039.
Wound repair and regeneration.
Gurtner GC(1), Werner S, Barrandon Y, Longaker MT.
Author information:
(1)Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery,
Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University
School of Medicine, 257 Campus Drive, Stanford, California 94305-5148, USA.
ggurtner@stanford.edu
The repair of wounds is one of the most complex biological processes that occur
during human life. After an injury, multiple biological pathways immediately
become activated and are synchronized to respond. In human adults, the wound
repair process commonly leads to a non-functioning mass of fibrotic tissue known
as a scar. By contrast, early in gestation, injured fetal tissues can be
completely recreated, without fibrosis, in a process resembling regeneration.
Some organisms, however, retain the ability to regenerate tissue throughout adult
life. Knowledge gained from studying such organisms might help to unlock latent
regenerative pathways in humans, which would change medical practice as much as
the introduction of antibiotics did in the twentieth century.
DOI: 10.1038/nature07039
PMID: 18480812 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
