近日，英国哈默史密斯医院校园教授Irene Miguel-Aliaga及其研究团队报道了繁殖过程中母肠的生长。2025年3月19日，国际知名学术期刊《细胞》发表了这一成果。

使用无主题肠，一个引人注目的和易于处理的器官调整模型，该课题组研究人员发现生殖重塑是预期的，不同于饮食或微生物诱导的调整。生殖重塑涉及小肠部分不可逆的延伸和小肠上皮绒毛的完全可逆生长，与峡部祖细胞的扩张和肠细胞迁移加速有关。该研究组发现小肠细胞亚群中SGLT3a转运体的诱导是一种早期生殖标志。电生理和基因调查表明SGLT3a不维持消化功能或肠细胞健康；相反，它检测到质子和钠，从外部支持邻近的Fgfbp1阳性地峡祖细胞的扩张，促进地峡祖细胞的生长。他们的发现揭示了生理器官重塑的意想不到的特异性。该研究团队建议可以利用器官和州特异性生长计划来改善妊娠结局或防止这种生长的不良后果。

据了解，许多雌性动物的器官都是通过繁殖来改造的。

附：英文原文

Title: Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction

Author: Tomotsune Ameku, Anna Laddach, Hannah Beckwith, Alexandra Milona, Loranzie S. Rogers, Cornelia Schwayer, Emma Nye, Iain R. Tough, Jean-Louis Thoumas, Umesh Kumar Gautam, Yi-Fang Wang, Shreya Jha, Alvaro Castano-Medina, Christopher Amourda, Patric M. Vaelli, Sira Gevers, Elaine E. Irvine, Leah Meyer, Ivan Andrew, Ka Lok Choi, Bhavik Patel, Alice J. Francis, Chris Studd, Laurence Game, George Young, Kevin G. Murphy, Bryn Owen, Dominic J. Withers, Maria Rodriguez-Colman, Helen M. Cox, Prisca Liberali, Martin Schwarzer, Franois Leulier, Vassilis Pachnis, Nicholas W. Bellono, Irene Miguel-Aliaga

Issue&Volume: 2025-03-19

Abstract: The organs of many female animals are remodeled by reproduction. Using the mouse intestine, a striking and tractable model of organ resizing, we find that reproductive remodeling is anticipatory and distinct from diet- or microbiota-induced resizing. Reproductive remodeling involves partially irreversible elongation of the small intestine and fully reversible growth of its epithelial villi, associated with an expansion of isthmus progenitors and accelerated enterocyte migration. We identify induction of the SGLT3a transporter in a subset of enterocytes as an early reproductive hallmark. Electrophysiological and genetic interrogations indicate that SGLT3a does not sustain digestive functions or enterocyte health; rather, it detects protons and sodium to extrinsically support the expansion of adjacent Fgfbp1-positive isthmus progenitors, promoting villus growth. Our findings reveal unanticipated specificity to physiological organ remodeling. We suggest that organ- and state-specific growth programs could be leveraged to improve pregnancy outcomes or prevent maladaptive consequences of such growth.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.015

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(25)00200-4