Project description:The organs of many female animals grow and are metabolically remodelled by reproduction; this process has been historically overlooked. Using the intestine of mouse mothers, a striking and genetically tractable example of reproductive organ resizing, we find that reproductive intestinal remodelling is anticipatory and distinct from diet- or microbiota-induced intestinal resizing. Reproductive remodelling involves partially irreversible elongation of the intestine and fully reversible growth of its epithelium, which ensues from an expansion of the isthmus progenitors, increased progenitor proliferation and accelerated migration of differentiated cells. Through spatiotemporal analysis of gene expression, we identify induction of the SGLT3a transporter in a subset of enterocytes as one of the earliest reproductive hallmarks within the intestinal epithelium. Electrophysiological and genetic interrogations in vivo and in organoids indicate that SGLT3a does not sustain broad digestive functions or enterocyte health. Instead, SGLT3a detects protons and sodium to extrinsically support the expansion of adjacent Fgfbp1-positive isthmus progenitors and gut epithelial growth during reproduction. Our findings reveal unanticipated molecular, cell and organ specificity to physiological organ remodelling, raising the possibility that organ- and state-specific growth programmes could be leveraged to improve pregnancy outcomes or prevent maladaptive consequences of such growth.
Project description:The mammary gland undergoes profound structural and cellular changes during pregnancy and lactation, yet the changes in immunocyte populations are incompletely understood. We identified changes in all immunocyte populations including B cells, NK cells, myeloid cells, and T cells, specifically increases in CD4+ and CD8+ T effector cells in late pregnancy and lactation that are partly dependent on microbial signals.
Project description:Previoulsly miRNA expression profiling of the whole mammary gland across different stages of pregnancy and lactation has been performed in mice. Since mammary gland has both epithelial and stromal compartments, to specifically identify the miRNAs involved in the transition from pregnancy to lactation a process termed as secretory activation, expression profiling of isolated mammary epithelial cells (MECs) from four CD1 mice each at Pregnancy day 14 (P14) and Lactation day 2 (L2) was performed in the current study. Statistical analysis of the miRNA changes between P14 and L2 identified 32 miRNAs to be differentially expressed with a fold change greater than or equal to 2, of which, the majority of them declinied at the onset of lactation.
Project description:Developmental programming is the concept that environmental factors, particularly during foetal life, can alter development, metabolism and physiology of an organism and this can have consequences later in life. There is growing interest in developmental programming in livestock species, particularly effects of maternal pregnancy nutrition, which is easy to manipulate. Recent research, using a sheep model, has shown that milk production in ewe offspring may be susceptible to maternal nutritional programming, such that over nutrition (ad libitum) of the pregnant dam, compared with maintenance nutrition, may impair their first lactation performance and result in the weaning of lighter lambs. RNA-seq was performed to identify gene expression differences as a result of maternal nutrition in ewe offspring during their first parity. Samples were collected in late pregnancy and during lactation, allowing us to examine gene expression changes during maturation of the ovine mammary gland. Three biological replicates were sequenced for each of the treatment conditions (maternal nutrition: sub-maintenance, maintenance, and ad libitum) and time points (late pregnancy and lactation). Each biological replicate consisted of RNA from multiple individuals (late pregnancy n=3, lactation n=2).
Project description:16 rats were mated and the dams continued pregnancy (controls) or were subsequently caloric restricted (CR) for 20% during days 1-12. Control female/male offspring continued normal lactation, while offspring of CR-treated dams received either normal lactation (CR group) or received during lactation until PN21 leptin supplementation. Leptin treatment of offspring during lactation after caloric restriction of dams during pregnancy reverts CR-induced dysfunction.