Treating probiotic bacteria reduces insulin resistance and protects against diabetes
Researchers have identified a specific strain of gut bacteria that may play a pivotal role in combating insulin resistance, a major factor in the onset of type 2 diabetes. The results suggest that introducing probiotics containing beneficial bacteria can improve glucose tolerance in pre-diabetic individuals.
Researchers from Japan’s RIKEN Center have identified a strain of gut bacteria, Alistips is not clearwhich you might fight insulin Resistance and prevention of type 2 diabetes. While the findings offer potential treatment avenues, more human trials are needed to validate them.
Scientists led by Hiroshi Ohno at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan have discovered a type of gut bacteria that may help improve insulin resistance, thus protecting against the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study was published today (August 30) in the Scientific Journal natureincluded genetic and metabolomic analysis of the human fecal microbiota and then corroborating experiments in obese mice.
Understanding insulin resistance
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas in response to blood sugar. Normally, it helps get sugar to the muscles and liver so they can use for energy. When someone develops insulin resistance, it means that insulin is prevented from doing its job, and as a result, more sugar remains in the blood and the pancreas continues to produce more insulin. Insulin resistance can lead to obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.
The study showed that people whose gut bacteria are dominated by Lachnospiraceae tend to have higher levels of insulin resistance and a higher content of monosaccharides in their stool. Those with more Bacteroidetes tend to have lower insulin resistance and lower monosaccharide content in their stool. Credit: Ricken
The role of gut bacteria
The human gut is home to trillions of bacteria, many of which break down the carbohydrates we eat when they remain undigested. While many have suggested that this phenomenon is linked to obesity and diabetes, the facts remain unclear due to the presence of many different bacteria and a lack of metabolic data. Ono and his team at RIKEN IMS addressed this deficiency through their comprehensive study, and in the process discovered a species of bacteria that may help reduce insulin resistance.
Main findings
First, they screened for as many metabolites as they could detect in the stool provided by more than 300 adults during their regular health checkups. They compared this metabolism to levels of insulin resistance obtained from the same people. “We found that higher insulin resistance was associated with excessive intake of carbohydrates in the stool, especially monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose, galactose, and mannose,” Ono says.
Next, they described the study participants’ gut microbiota and its relationship to insulin resistance and fecal carbohydrates. The intestines of people with higher insulin resistance contain a greater number of bacteria from the taxonomic order Lachnospiraceae than other orders. In addition, microbiota including Lachnospiraceae has been associated with increased fecal carbohydrates. Thus, a gut microbiota dominated by Lachnospiraceae was associated with both insulin resistance and stool containing excessive monosaccharides. At the same time, levels of insulin resistance and monosaccharides were lower in participants whose gut contained more Bacteroidales bacteria than other species.
experiments with mice
The team then set out to see the direct effect of the bacteria on metabolism in culture and then in mice. In culture, Bacteroidales consumed the same types of monosaccharides found in the feces of people with high insulin resistance, with classify Alistips is not clear Consume the widest variety. In obese mice, the team looked at how treatment with different bacteria affected blood sugar levels. They found it a. unclear It lowered blood sugar and decreased insulin resistance and the amount of carbohydrates available to the mice.
Implications and future prospects
These results were consistent with findings in human patients and have implications for diagnosis and treatment. As Ono explains: “Because of their association with insulin resistance, the presence of Lachnospiraceae bacteria in the gut could be a good biomarker of prediabetes.” Likewise, a probiotic treatment containing a. unclear May improve glucose intolerance in people with prediabetes.
Although most over-the-counter probiotics do not currently contain the bacteria identified in this study, Ono urges caution if they are available. “These results must be verified in human clinical trials before we can recommend any probiotic as a treatment for insulin resistance.”
Reference: “Gut microbial carbohydrate metabolism contributes to insulin resistance” by Tadashi Takeuchi, Tetsuya Kubota, Yumiko Nakanishi, Hiroshi Tsugawa, Wataru Suda, Andrew Tae-jun Kwon, Junichi Yazaki, Kazutaka Ikeda, Shino Nemoto, Yoshiki Mochizuki, Toshimori Kitami, Katsuyuki . Yugi, Yoshiko Mizuno, Nobutaki Yamamichi, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Isseki Takamoto, Naoto Kubota, Takashi Kadawaki, Eric Arner, Piero Carenensei, Osamu Ohara, Makoto Arita, Masahira Hattori, Shigeo Koyasu and Hiroshi Ono, August 30, 2023, nature.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06466-x
