The human microbiome (the genomes of microorganisms that reside within the human body) varies between individuals, populations and environments, and it is known that it influences health and human disease, such as inflammatory intestinal disease (EII), prediabetes and pregnancy and premature childbirth .
Now, a study in ‘Science‘, shows that microbiome has a key role in diabetes since it determines the development of insulin producing cells in childhood, which leads to long -term changes in metabolism and the risk of diabetes.
The results of this study carried out in mice could help in the future reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes (or even potentially restore the metabolic function lost in adulthood) by providing specific intestinal microbes that help the pancreas to grow and heal.
Researchers of the UTAH HEALTH UNIVERSITY (USA) discovered that mice exposed to broad spectrum antibiotics in life early have a worse long -term metabolic health: if animals received antibiotics 10 days after birth, they generated less beta cells (insulin producing cells in the pancreas that regulate blood sugar) and had higher levels of blood sugar and lower blood and lower adult insulin.
«This demonstrates how important the microbiota is during this initial period so short of development », says June Roundone of the main authors of the study.
The research has identified specific microbes that increased the amount of insulin producing tissue and the blood insulin level. One of these microbes that stimulate metabolism is a little studied fungus called Candida Dubliniensisthat is not found in healthy human adults, but that is more common in babies.
Exposure to C. Dubliniensis in the first years of life also drastically reduced the risk of type 1 diabetes in male mice at risk. When the male mice that were genetically predisposed to develop type 1 diabetes were colonized by a metabolically “neutral” microbe in childhood, they developed the disease 90% of the time. However, those colonized with the fungus developed diabetes less than 15% of the time.
The researchers discovered that exposure to C. Dubliniensis could even help recover a damaged pancreas. When they introduced the fungus in adult mice whose insulin producing cells had been eliminated, insulin producing cells regenerated and the metabolic function improved, a fact is very unusual since this type of cell usually does not grow during adulthood.
If the benefits observed in mice are maintained in humans, microbes -derived molecules could help restore pancreatic function in people with diabetes. But Jennifer Hillfirst author of the study, warns that treatments that help beta cells to regenerate in mice have historically not conducted to improvements to human health.
The researchers explain that the fungus C. Dubliniensis improves the metabolic function by influencing the immune system of the pancreas.
Both Hill and Round claim that there are other microbes that confer similar benefits to those of C. Dubliniensis. “We don’t know much about how microbiome affects health in the first years of life,” Hill recognizes. But we are discovering that these signs of the first years of life do affect early development and, in addition, have long -term consequences for metabolic health.
The authors conclude that understanding how microbioma to metabolism affects potentially to microbes -based treatments to prevent type 1 diabetes.
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