Study of the gut microbiome in Egyptian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Ahmed I Allakany; Amany A Elbanna; Kamel H Rohoma; Shwikar M Ahmed; Ahmed E Ibrahim; Moamen A Fawzy; Doaa A Header

doi:10.5114/pg.2023.126055

Study of the gut microbiome in Egyptian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Prz Gastroenterol. 2023;18(2):190-197. doi: 10.5114/pg.2023.126055. Epub 2023 Mar 22.

Authors

Ahmed I Allakany¹, Amany A Elbanna¹, Kamel H Rohoma¹, Shwikar M Ahmed², Ahmed E Ibrahim³, Moamen A Fawzy¹, Doaa A Header¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
² Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
³ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease. The gut microbiota has been proposed as a key actor in the pathogenesis of T1DM.

Aim: To identify the gut microbiome that are likely to be related to T1DM. This may have an impact on the future understanding of the pathogenesis of T1DM and possible approaches to prevent and treat it.

Material and methods: The study included 40 T1DM patients and a cross-matching control group of 20 healthy subjects of matched age and sex; stool specimens were taken from each group. Quantitative SYBR Green Real-Time PCR technique targeting 16S rRNA was done for the identification and quantitation of Bacteroides, Prevotella, Ruminococcus, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Veillonella.

Results: T1DM patients showed significantly higher Bacteroides (p < 0.001) and Lactobacillus johnsonii (p = 0.003), but lower Veillonella (p = 0.013) than the control group. However, there was no statistical difference between T1DM and control cases as regards Prevotella (p = 0.204), Ruminococcus (p = 0.598), Lactobacilli (p = 0.901), and Lactobacillus reuteri (p = 0.332).

Conclusions: Egyptian patients showed dysbiosis of the gut microbiome that can be related to the pathogenesis of T1DM. This hopefully points to the potential therapeutic benefits of manipulating the composition of the gut microbiome in the management of, or even protection from, T1DM.

Keywords: dysbiosis; gut microbiome; real-time polymerase chain reaction; type 1 diabetes mellitus.