Diabetes, obesity and gut microbiota

• Published in: Baillière's best practice & research. Clinical gastroenterology Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 73 - 83
• Main Authors: Everard, Amandine, Cani, Patrice D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2013; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - microbiology; Endocannabinoids; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; GLP-1; GLP-2; Gut permeability; Humans; Insulin resistance; Metabolic disorders; Metabolic endotoxaemia; Metabolic Syndrome - metabolism; Metabolism; Metagenome - physiology; Microbiology; Obesity; Obesity - microbiology; Prebiotics; Weight control; Gut permeability; GLP-1; Metabolic endotoxaemia; Diabetes; GLP-2; Endocannabinoids; Prebiotics
• ISSN: 1521-6918; 1532-1916; 1532-1916
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bpg.2013.03.007

The gut microbiota composition has been associated with several hallmarks of metabolic syndrome (e.g., obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis). Growing evidence suggests that gut microbes contribute to the onset of the low-grade inflammation characterising these metabolic disorders via mechanisms associated with gut barrier dysfunctions. Recently, enteroendocrine cells and the endocannabinoid system have been shown to control gut permeability and metabolic endotoxaemia. Moreover, targeted nutritional interventions using non-digestible carbohydrates with prebiotic properties have shown promising results in pre-clinical studies in this context, although human intervention studies warrant further investigations. Thus, in this review, we discuss putative mechanisms linking gut microbiota and type 2 diabetes. These data underline the advantage of investigating and changing the gut microbiota as a therapeutic target in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes.