Tissue repair

This overview addresses tissue repair with particular emphasis on the basic mechanisms and phases of tissue repair, including inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. We will discuss the key cellular participants, such as neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts, and their regulatory growth factors. The lecture will highlight how tissue repair can lead to regeneration or fibrosis and the factors that determine these outcomes. Finally, we will address challenges to effective healing, such as age, infection, poor nutrition, and chronic diseases. Tissue repair is how the body restores integrity and function after injury, playing a crucial role in recovery from wounds, surgery and chronic diseases. The process unfolds in three overlapping phases, inflammation, proliferation and maturation. Inflammation is the body's rapid response to clear debris and pathogens, followed by new tissue and blood vessel formation, then maturation, which strengthens repaired tissue. This lecture will explore the phases, cellular participants, and key regulatory factors. A diverse cast of cells orchestrates tissue repair. Inflammation recruits neutrophils, the first responders that clear debris and microbes, followed by macrophages. Macrophages remove debris and release cytokines and growth factors to guide healing. As proliferation begins, fibroblasts migrate in, synthesize collagen, and form the provisional matrix. Endothelial cells form new vessels and keratinocytes migrate to recover the wound.