TGF-β3 is believed to regulate molecules involved in cellular adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM) formation during the process of palate development. Without TGF-β3, mammals develop a deformity known as a cleft palate.[8][9] This is caused by failure of epithelial cells in both sides of the developing palate to fuse. TGF-β3 also plays an essential role in controlling the development of lungs in mammals, by also regulating cell adhesion and ECM formation in this tissue,[10] and controls wound healing by regulating the movements of epidermal and dermal cells in injured skin.[5]
^Herpin A, Lelong C, Favrel P (May 2004). "Transforming growth factor-beta-related proteins: an ancestral and widespread superfamily of cytokines in metazoans". Developmental and Comparative Immunology. 28 (5): 461–85. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2003.09.007. PMID15062644.
^Taya Y, O'Kane S, Ferguson MW (Sep 1999). "Pathogenesis of cleft palate in TGF-beta3 knockout mice". Development. 126 (17): 3869–79. doi:10.1242/dev.126.17.3869. PMID10433915.
^Dudas M, Nagy A, Laping NJ, Moustakas A, Kaartinen V (Feb 2004). "Tgf-beta3-induced palatal fusion is mediated by Alk-5/Smad pathway". Developmental Biology. 266 (1): 96–108. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2003.10.007. PMID14729481.
^Kaartinen V, Voncken JW, Shuler C, Warburton D, Bu D, Heisterkamp N, Groffen J (Dec 1995). "Abnormal lung development and cleft palate in mice lacking TGF-beta 3 indicates defects of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction". Nature Genetics. 11 (4): 415–21. doi:10.1038/ng1295-415. PMID7493022. S2CID22365206.