Formation of normal interdigital web spaces in the hand revisited: implications for the pathogenesis of syndactyly in humans and experimental animals

Abstract

The creation of the normal web spaces has been attributed to apoptosis. This paper presents evidence that lysosomal-mediated cell death and extracellular matrix degradation are important events in addition to cell death by apoptosis. The author proposes the use of the term interdigital cell death– extracellular matrix degradation instead of interdigital apoptosis. Furthermore, the concept of web creation by differential growth is introduced along with the discussion of the latest research in molecular biology and genetics on the topic.