Credit: Cincinnati Children's
These microscopic images show structural changes in the intestine of an older mouse approaching 2 years of age (right) compared to intestine from a young 2-3 month old mouse (left). The older intestine has a smaller number of intestinal crypts (mucosal glands) that are wider. Researchers report in Cell Reports that intestinal stem cells (ISCs) age along with the animals, causing detrimental changes to intestinal structures and their function. They also show function can be restored by reactivating the signaling of a key molecule lost in aging intestinal stem cells.