Scientists are increasingly looking at the combinations of different bacteria in individuals’ guts as a marker for disease and conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D).
In a study published in Nature, researchers examined gut bacteria in 345 Chinese people. The team managed to identify clear biological indicators that could be used in methods to provide faster and earlier diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
They identified and validated approximately 60 000 T2D-diabetes-associated markers and performed species-level analyses of intestinal bacteria.
People with T2D were characterised by a moderate degree of gut microbial dysbiosis (i.e. an imbalance in intestinal bacteria), a decrease in the abundance of some butyrate-producing bacteria and an increase in various opportunistic pathogens, as well as an enrichment of other microbial functions conferring sulphate reduction and oxidative stress resistance. An analysis of 23 additional individuals demonstrated that these gut microbial markers might be useful for classifying T2D.
Study leader Professor Jun Wang of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, said: “We have demonstrated people with type 2 diabetes have a high level of pathogens in their intestines.”
The research team now plan to transplant gut bacteria from people with T2D into mice and examine whether the mice then develop diabetes.
The full study can be read online.
