Wound healing in the fetus

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Abstract
Macrophages are believed to play a crucial role in wound healing by synthesizing and secreting numerous cytokines. Some of these cytokines, such as transforming growth factor‐β and tumor necrosis factor‐α, promote fibrosis and repair. We have shown that macrophages are recruited to sterile fetal wounds and have the potential to regulate repair by synthesizing transforming growth factor‐β1, transforming growth factor‐β2, and tumor necrosis factor‐α. Transforming growth factor‐β was present in fetal lamb wounds in higher amounts than in adult sheep wounds. Furthermore, the concentrations and ratios of the transforming growth factor‐β isoforms in wounds that healed without scarring were different from those in wounds that scarred; transforming growth factor‐β2 was highest in fetal wounds that did not scar and lowest in adult wounds. These data suggest that concentrations of transforming growth factor‐β isoforms rather than total transforming growth factor‐β concentration may be important in the regulation of fibrosis in prenatal and postnatal wound healing.

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