Advances in scarless foetal wound healing and prospects for scar reduction in adults.

Healing after mammalian skin injury involves the interaction between numerous cellular constituents and regulatory factors, which together form three overlapping phases: an inflammatory response, a proliferation phase and a remodelling phase. Any slight variation in these three stages can substantially alter the healing process and resultant production of scars. Of particular significance are the mechanisms responsible for the scar-free phenomenon observed in the foetus. Uncovering such mechanisms would offer great expectations in the treatment of scars and therefore represents an important area of investigation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of studies on injury-induced skin regeneration within the foetus. The information contained in these studies provides an opportunity for new insights into the treatment of clinical scars based on the cellular and molecular processes involved.