This study aimed to reveal the impact of energy restriction on the intestine via structural and molecular changes in terms of intestinal stem cell (ISC) function, ISC niche, intestinal epithelial barrier function, and intestinal immune function. Female C57BL/6J mice, aged 12 months, fed a commercial chow were used in this study. The ISC function, ISC niche, intestinal epithelial barrier function, and intestinal immune function were assessed. Energy restriction reversed aging-induced intestinal shortening and made the crypts shallower. The intestinal epithelial cells isolated from the intestine showed a significant increase in the expression levels of stem cell-associated genes in small intestinal epithelial cells as detected by flow cytometry. Despite the increase in the number of stem cells and the expression levels of markers, no increase or decrease was found in the enteroid complexity of the small intestine and colonic enteroid formation in vitro. The colonic mucous layer was measured in mice of the energy restricted (ER)-treated group to investigate the epithelial barrier function in the colon. The results revealed that the barrier was more complete. The fluorescence intensity of tight junction markers claudin-2 and zonula occludens-1 increased and the mRNA expression profiles of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 and interleukin-6 decreased in the colon of mice in the ER-treated group. The beneficial effects of ER on the colon in terms of the integrity of the mucosal barrier and alleviation of inflammation were confirmed, thus highlighting the importance of modulating the intestinal function in developing effective antiaging dietary interventions.

中文翻译：

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通过热量限制改善中年 C57BL/6 小鼠肠道干细胞和屏障功能

本研究旨在通过肠道干细胞 (ISC) 功能、ISC 生态位、肠上皮屏障功能和肠道免疫功能方面的结构和分子变化来揭示能量限制对肠道的影响。本研究中使用了喂养商业食物的 12 个月大的雌性 C57BL/6J 小鼠。评估了 ISC 功能、ISC 生态位、肠上皮屏障功能和肠道免疫功能。能量限制逆转了衰老引起的肠道缩短并使隐窝更浅。通过流式细胞术检测，从小肠分离的肠上皮细胞显示小肠上皮细胞中干细胞相关基因的表达水平显着增加。尽管干细胞数量和标志物表达水平增加，体外小肠肠样复杂性和结肠肠样形成未见增加或减少。在能量限制 (ER) 治疗组的小鼠中测量结肠粘液层，以研究结肠中的上皮屏障功能。结果显示，屏障更完整。ER 治疗组小鼠结肠中紧密连接标志物 claudin-2 和 zonula occludens-1 的荧光强度增加，单核细胞趋化蛋白 1 和白细胞介素 6 的 mRNA 表达谱降低。ER 对结肠在粘膜屏障完整性和减轻炎症方面的有益作用得到证实，从而突出了调节肠道功能在制定有效的抗衰老饮食干预措施中的重要性。