Developmental Models for Wound Healing

The bodies of animals and humans frequently sustain damage as a result of injury or disease, and the ability to repair this damage is essential for life. Tissue repair, or wound healing, is a complex process which is difficult to study experimentally and is, therefore, not fully understood. Over recent years, various studies have identified striking similarities between tissue repair and the process of morphogenesis in which tissues are originally formed during embryonic development. This has raised the possibility of using developmental processes as model systems to help in better understanding of tissue repair. This article describes how comparative studies of embryonic morphogenesis and tissue repair have improved understanding of the mechanisms of repair. The article further discusses the key processes and regulatory mechanisms that are shared between development and repair, including important recent developments in the field.