Diabetes may originate in your gut

Diabetes may originate in your gut

Washington, Feb 16 (PTI) In what could be hailed as a possible breakthrough, scientists claim to have found evidence which suggests that diabetes may originate in the gut.

A team at Washington University School of Medicine says its research has shown that problems controlling blood sugar -- the hallmark of diabetes -- may begin in the intestines, contrary to long-held theories about causes of the disease.

In their research, the scientists analysed mice that are unable to make fatty acid synthase (FAS) in the intestine.

FAS, an enzyme crucial for the production of lipids, is regulated by insulin, and people with diabetes have defects in FAS. Mice without the enzyme in the intestines develop chronic inflammation in the gut, a powerful predictor of diabetes.

“Diabetes may indeed start in your gut,” said principal investigator Clay F. Semenkovich, MD.

“When people become resistant to insulin, as happens when they gain weight, FAS doesn’t work properly,
which causes inflammation that, in turn, can lead to diabetes,” he explained.

Semenkovich and Wei say much more study is needed, but they say that FAS and a key component of the
intestinal mucosa called Muc2 may be potential targets for diabetes therapy. They now plan to study people with diabetes to see whether FAS is altered in a similar way, producing damage to the mucosal layer in the intestines.