Membranous (M) cells are specialized epithelial cells of the Peyer's patches that sample antigens from the gut lumen, thereby enabling the host to respond immunologically. Recent studies suggest that this transport can be up-regulated within hours by de novo formation of M cells from enterocytes. To test this hypothesis, we used an in vivo model and induced the transcytosis of tracers in Peyer's patches by application of Streptococcus pneumoniae R36a into the gut lumen. Using cell-type-specific markers, we quantified M cells in the Peyer's patch domes, lymphocytes associated with M cells, and the transport rate for experimentally applied microbeads after 3 hours of exposure to R36a. The transport of latex microbeads was significantly increased by +131% in the R36a-treated patches as compared to buffer controls (P < 0.001). While in controls, each M cell was associated with 2.05 +/- 0.64 lymphocytes, a significant increase (+55.1%; P < 0.001) was determined in the R36a-treated patches. However, no statistical difference was detected in the percentage of M cells in the dome epithelia (46.0 +/- 4.6% versus 45.5 +/- 3.8%). It is concluded that bacteria-induced up-regulation of particle transport in Peyer's patch domes is due to an increased transport rate of the M cells, but not to a de novo formation of M cells. The data support the hypothesis that M cells represent a separate cell lineage that does not derive from enterocytes on the domes.