Understanding the role of the gut ecosystem in diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a type of metabolic disorder whereby patients are unable to regulate glycemia. It is currently a worldwide public health issue, and is a burden to society because of its disabling and common complications. Diabetes is multifactorial, and also induces the onset of other diseases. In the present report, we review the labyrinth encompassing the gut microbiota and gut microbiota-derived metabolites in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes pathogenesis. There have been exceptional improvements in deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing and mass spectrometry technologies throughout these past years, and these have allowed the comprehensive collection of information on our unique gut ecosystem. We would like to advocate incorporating metagenome and metabolome information for a comprehensive perspective of the complex interrelationships between the gut environment, host metabolism and diabetes pathogenesis. We hope that with this improved understanding we would be able to provide exciting novel therapeutic approaches to engineer an ideal gut ecosystem for optimal health.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Metabolomics; Metagenomics.

Figure 1

Factors contributing to the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Western diets, antibiotic consumption and microbial exposure have been reported to play a role in gut dysbiosis. This leads to a decrease in short‐chain fatty acid production, lowered secretion of glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1) and increased low‐grade inflammation.

Figure 2

The fusion of the information derived from microbiome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome platforms. This information will allow us to understand the intricate interplay between gut microbiota and the host metabolism to suggest appropriate lifestyle and nutritional interventions by engineering an optimal gut environment towards the prevention and maintenance remission of diabetes.