The sex and reproductive plasticity of intestinal muscles

Authors list

Alessandro Mineo Pedro Gaspar Nuno Miguel Luis Álvaro Castano Tomotsune Ameku Alexandra Milona Bryon Silva Laura Blackie Clara L Essmann Jake Jakobson Sanjay Khadayate George Young Filipe Cabreiro Frank Schnorrer Irene Miguel-Aliaga

Scroll for detail on labs, facilities & authors

Abstract

Adult organs grow and shrink in response to functional demands; such changes are attributed to the intrinsic dynamics of their stem cells. One striking example of plasticity is the intestine: its length is diet-sensitive and it elongates further in females during reproduction. Here, we show that the entire adult intestine is extrinsically resized by its surrounding muscles. In Drosophila, intestinal muscles differ in size and structure between sexes, and grow in females during reproduction. Intrinsic sex determinants control muscle myofibril width, whereas hormone-driven changes lead to sarcomere elongation in females during reproduction. Altering the sex or reproductive status of gut muscle cells, we establish that intestinal muscles are actively remodelled in females during reproduction. Reproductive remodelling of intestinal muscles increases organ size, sustains reproduction and occurs also in mice. Our findings re-define the intestinal muscle as a responder to specific signals to adjust adult organ size and sustain reproductive demands.