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. 2025 May 15;188(10):2738-2756.e22.
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.015. Epub 2025 Mar 19.

Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction

Tomotsune Ameku  1 , Anna Laddach  2 , Hannah Beckwith  3 , Alexandra Milona  1 , Loranzie S Rogers  4 , Cornelia Schwayer  5 , Emma Nye  2 , Iain R Tough  6 , Jean-Louis Thoumas  7 , Umesh Kumar Gautam  8 , Yi-Fang Wang  9 , Shreya Jha  9 , Alvaro Castano-Medina  10 , Christopher Amourda  11 , Patric M Vaelli  4 , Sira Gevers  12 , Elaine E Irvine  3 , Leah Meyer  13 , Ivan Andrew  9 , Ka Lok Choi  9 , Bhavik Patel  9 , Alice J Francis  9 , Chris Studd  3 , Laurence Game  9 , George Young  9 , Kevin G Murphy  13 , Bryn Owen  13 , Dominic J Withers  3 , Maria Rodriguez-Colman  12 , Helen M Cox  6 , Prisca Liberali  5 , Martin Schwarzer  8 , François Leulier  7 , Vassilis Pachnis  2 , Nicholas W Bellono  4 , Irene Miguel-Aliaga  14
Affiliations

Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction

Tomotsune Ameku et al. Cell. .

Erratum in

  • Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction.
    Ameku T, Laddach A, Beckwith H, Milona A, Rogers LS, Schwayer C, Nye E, Tough IR, Thoumas JL, Gautam UK, Wang YF, Jha S, Castano-Medina A, Amourda C, Vaelli PM, Gevers S, Irvine EE, Meyer L, Andrew I, Choi KL, Patel B, Francis AJ, Studd C, Game L, Young G, Murphy KG, Owen B, Withers DJ, Rodriguez-Colman M, Cox HM, Liberali P, Schwarzer M, Leulier F, Pachnis V, Bellono NW, Miguel-Aliaga I. Ameku T, et al. Cell. 2025 May 15;188(10):2825-2828. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.04.023. Epub 2025 Apr 26. Cell. 2025. PMID: 40288373 No abstract available.

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.

Keywords: Fgfbp1; SGLT3a; adult organ remodeling; intestinal epithelium; isthmus progenitor; lactation; plasticity; pregnancy; reproduction; small intestine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests.

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