The role of transforming growth factor β TGFβ/activin signaling in wound repair and regeneration is highly conserved in the animal kingdom. Various studies have shown that TGF-β/activin signaling can either promote or inhibit different aspects of the regeneration process (i.e., proliferation, differentiation, and re-epithelialization). It has been demonstrated in several biological systems that some of the different cellular responses promoted by TGFβ/activin signaling depend on the activation of Smad-dependent or Smad-independent signal transduction pathways. In the context of regeneration and wound healing, it has been shown that the type of R-Smad stimulated determines the different effects that can be obtained. However, neither the possible roles of Smad-independent pathways nor the interaction of the TGFβ/activin pathway with other complex signaling networks involved in the regenerative process has been studied extensively. Here, we review the important aspects concerning the TGFβ/activin signaling pathway in the regeneration process. We discuss data regarding the role of TGF-β/activin in the most common animal regenerative models to demonstrate how this signaling promotes or inhibits regeneration, depending on the cellular context.

在动物界中，转化生长因子βTGFβ/激活素信号传导在伤口修复和再生中的作用是高度保守的。各种研究表明，TGF-β/激活素信号传导可以促进或抑制再生过程的不同方面（即增殖，分化和再上皮化）。在几种生物系统中已经证明，由TGFβ/激活素信号传导促进的一些不同的细胞应答取决于Smad依赖性或Smad依赖性信号转导途径的活化。在再生和伤口愈合的情况下，已经表明，刺激的R-Smad的类型决定了可获得的不同效果。然而，既没有广泛研究Smad非依赖性途径的可能作用，也没有广泛研究TGFβ/激活素途径与再生过程中涉及的其他复杂信号网络的相互作用。在这里，我们回顾了有关再生过程中TGFβ/激活素信号通路的重要方面。我们讨论有关TGF-β/激活素在最常见的动物再生模型中的作用的数据，以证明这种信号传导如何促进或抑制再生，具体取决于细胞环境。