Surface wound healing: A new, general function of eukaryotic cells

Abstract

The ability to repair surface wounds is a property, necessary for long-term survival, expressed to various extents by all eukaryotic cell types except erythrocytes. The process is based on the rapid Ca2+-induced exocytosis of various types of specific organelles, such as lysosomes and enlargeosomes, that decreases surface tension and makes possible the spontaneous fusion of lipid monolayers at the lesion edges. The recognized importance of the process in physiology and in several cases of pathology is discussed.