Gut bacteria can contribute to type-2 diabetes, finds study

The study explored that the gut microbiota of people with treatment-naive Type-2 diabetes can be linked to a different metabolism of the amino acid histidine, which is mainly derived from the diet.

A new study claims that gut bacteria have the ability to affect how cells respond to insulin and can thus contribute to Type-2 diabetes. According to the IANS report, the study explored that the gut microbiota of people with treatment-naive Type-2 diabetes can be linked to a different metabolism of the amino acid histidine, which is mainly derived from the diet.

This, in turn, leads to the formation of imidazole propionate, a substance that impairs the cells' ability to respond to insulin. Therefore, reducing the amount of bacterial-produced imidazole propionate could be a new way of treating patients with such disease.

Fredrik Backhed, Professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden reportedly said that this substance does not cause all Type-2 diabetes, but our working hypothesis is that there are sub-populations of patients who might benefit from changing their diet or altering their gut microbiota to reduce the levels of imidazole propionate.

The study has been published in the journal Cell. For the study, the research team has involved 649 participants.

They used faecal samples and found that the microbiota of people with Type-2 diabetes produced imidazole propionate when histidine was added. However, this mechanism was not found in the diabetes-free control subjects.

As per as Backhed, their findings show clearly how important the interaction between gut microbiota and diet is to understand our metabolism in health and disease. The result also shows that gut bacteria from different individuals can lead to the production of completely different substances that may have very specific effects on the body.