脂肪体特异敲低 Catsup 通过调控细胞内锌水平影响肠道发育

锌是人体必需的微量营养素之一,参与人体生长和器官发育中的多数生理过程。研究发现生物体的不同器官之间存在通讯联系,但具体机制尚不清楚。文章以哺乳动物锌转运蛋白ZIP7的果蝇同源物Catsup为切入点,发现在脂肪体(相当于哺乳动物肝脏)特异性敲低Catsup会导致果蝇中肠变短、表面积减少等肠道发育异常问题;通过膳食手段和遗传手段调控锌水平可以挽救脂肪体Catsup敲低导致的上述肠道异常表型。研究结果表明,脂肪体内Catsup表达调控的锌稳态对于肠道发育是必须的,并为进一步探究不同器官之间联系的生理机制提供了理论依据。

Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients of human body, and it is involved in many physiological processes of human growth and organ development. Studies have found that there are communication links between different organs of organisms, but the specific mechanism is not clear. Based on Catsup, a homolog of mammalian zinc transporter ZIP7 in Drosophila melanogaster, it was found that specific knockdown of Catsup in the fat body (equivalent to mammalian liver) resulted in intestinal abnormalities, including midgut shortening and surface area reduction. Dietary and genetic regulation of zinc levels can rescue the above intestinal abnormal phenotypes caused by Catsup knockdown in fat body. These results suggest that zinc homeostasis regulated by Catsup expression in fat body is essential for intestinal development, and provide a theoretical basis for further exploring the physiological mechanism of the links between different organs.