Intestinal plasticity and metabolism as regulators of organismal energy homeostasis.

Abstract

The small intestine displays marked anatomical and functional plasticity that includes adaptive alterations in adult gut morphology, enteroendocrine cell profile and their hormone secretion, as well as nutrient utilization and storage. In this Perspective, we examine how shifts in dietary and environmental conditions bring about changes in gut size, and describe how the intestine adapts to changes in internal state, bowel resection and gastric bypass surgery. We highlight the critical importance of these intestinal remodelling processes in maintaining energy balance of the organism, and in protecting the metabolism of other organs. The intestinal resizing is supported by changes in the microbiota composition, and by activation of carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, which govern the intestinal stem cell proliferation, intestinal cell fate, as well as survivability of differentiated epithelial cells. The discovery that intestinal remodelling is part of the normal physiological adaptation to various triggers, and the potential for harnessing the reversible gut plasticity, in our view, holds extraordinary promise for developing therapeutic approaches against metabolic and inflammatory diseases.