Ozaki Michelle K, Zhang Yi, Bartlett Alexandra Q, de Wilde Elise, Guan Xiangnan, Yang Alex, Xia Zheng, Schedin Pepper
Cell Developmental and Cancer Biology Department, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201.
Biomedical Engineering Department, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97201.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Jun 17;122(24):e2420174122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2420174122. Epub 2025 Jun 11.
Liver biology is functionally linked to lactation, as liver size and metabolic output increase during lactation to support synthesis of breast milk. Upon weaning, the rodent liver returns to baseline homeostasis via hepatocyte cell death, in a process considered liver involution. To explore liver biology changes across a lactation-wean cycle, we employed transcriptomic profiling. We identified elevated hepatocyte proliferation and anabolic metabolism gene signatures during lactation, consistent with the liver being a major producer of substrates needed for milk production. Rapid loss of these capacities upon weaning correlated with catabolic metabolism, lysosomal-mediated cell death, and an enrichment of immune-suppressive cells. Furthermore, we identified that the transcriptional profiles associated with liver involution share similarities with the gene expression patterns of liver premetastatic niches. This work identifies features of reproductive control of liver biology that set a foundation for better understanding the potential role of the liver in maternal health.
肝脏生物学与泌乳功能相关,因为在泌乳期间肝脏大小和代谢输出增加,以支持母乳的合成。断奶后,啮齿动物的肝脏通过肝细胞死亡恢复到基线稳态,这一过程被认为是肝脏 involution( involution 可译为“退化”或“复旧”,此处结合语境应为“复旧”)。为了探索整个泌乳 - 断奶周期中肝脏生物学的变化,我们采用了转录组分析。我们发现泌乳期间肝细胞增殖和合成代谢基因特征升高,这与肝脏是乳汁生产所需底物的主要生产者一致。断奶后这些能力的迅速丧失与分解代谢、溶酶体介导的细胞死亡以及免疫抑制细胞的富集相关。此外,我们发现与肝脏复旧相关的转录谱与肝脏前转移微环境的基因表达模式有相似之处。这项工作确定了肝脏生物学生殖控制的特征,为更好地理解肝脏在母体健康中的潜在作用奠定了基础。