New revelations about the development of insulin resistance have been published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Metabolic syndrome refers to factors that increase the individual risk for heart disease and other health problems, including diabetes and stroke. Such risk influences include a sizable waistline, a high triglyceride level – a type of fat found in the blood, a low HDL cholesterol level, high blood pressure, as well as elevated fasting blood sugar levels. As obesity rates among adults continue to climb, so too does Metabolic Syndrome, a leading risk factor for many serious, life-threatening diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
“Alterations in bacteria have been associated with metabolic diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, but mechanisms remain elusive,” attest researchers at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.
The scientists believe that previous studies in mice have indicated that bacteria that are able to encroach upon the epithelium might be able to promote inflammation that triggers metabolic diseases, and have noted that this is also a feature of metabolic disease in humans, most notably type 2 diabetics who exhibit microbiota encroachment.
The mucus-lined cellular covering of internal and external surfaces of the body, including the intestinal tract composes the epithelium. The collective term for the communities of microscopic living organisms that inhabit this environment is known as gut microbiota. These microscopic living organisms that exist in the outer regions of the mucus and remain a safe distance from epithelial cells provide a benefit to the host, but Georgia State scientists hypothesize that microbiota that encroaches upon host cells cause chronic inflammation that undermines with the normal action of insulin, resulting in type 2 diabetes.
The study relied upon samples from human subjects enrolled at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Atlanta. All of the participants were at least 21 years old with no serious health problems except for diabetes and undergoing colonoscopy for colon cancer screening. The researchers studied the subjects’ diabetes history and gastrointestinal complaints. Two mucosal biopsies were taken during the colonoscopy and analyzed. from the left colon and analyzed.
“The data are impressive and may have opened a new field of investigation in metabolic function and type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Samuel Klein, chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Nutritional Science at the Washington University School of Medicine Diabetes Research Center.
Follow-up studies to pinpoint the identity of the bacteria that are invading the colon lining are being conducted. Researchers are also exploring remedies to prevent such bacteria encroachment.
