Japanese researchers have discovered a type of gut bacteria that might help improve insulin resistance, and thus protect against the development of obesity and Type-2 diabetes. 

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, involved genetic and metabolic analysis of human faecal microbiomes and then corroborating experiments in an obese experimental model.

In the obese experimental model, the team led by Hiroshi Ohno at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) looked at how treatment with different bacteria affected blood sugar levels. 

They found that A. indistinctus lowered blood sugar and reduced insulin resistance and the amount of carbohydrates available to the experimental model. These results were compatible with the findings from human patients and have implications for diagnosis and treatment. 

In the study, the researchers first examined as many metabolites as they could detect in the faeces provided by over 300 adults at their regular health checkups. They compared this metabolome with the insulin resistance levels obtained from the same people. 

"We found that higher insulin resistance was associated with excessive carbohydrates in the faecal matter, especially monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, galactose, and mannose," Ohno said.

Next, they characterised the gut microbiota of the study participants and their relationship with insulin resistance and faecal carbohydrates. The guts of people with higher insulin resistance contained more bacteria from the taxonomic order Lachnospiraceae than from other orders. 

Additionally, microbiomes that included Lachnospiraceae were associated with excess faecal carbohydrates. Thus, a gut microbiota dominated by Lachnospiraceae was related to both insulin resistance and faeces with excessive monosaccharides.

At the same time, insulin resistance and monosaccharide levels were lower in participants whose guts contained more Bacteroidales-type bacteria than other types.

The team then set out to see the direct effect of bacteria on metabolism in culture and then in an experimental model. In culture, Bacteroidales bacteria consumed the same kinds of monosaccharides that were found in the faeces of people with high insulin resistance, with the species Alistipes indistinctus consuming the greatest variety. 

"Because of its association with insulin resistance, the presence of gut Lachnospiraceae bacteria could be a good biomarker for pre-diabetes. Likewise, treatment with probiotics containing A. indistinctus might improve glucose intolerance in those with pre-diabetes," Ohno explained. 

Although most over-the-counter probiotics do not currently contain the bacteria identified in this study, Ohno urges caution should they become available. 

"These findings need to be verified in human clinical trials before we can recommend any probiotic as a treatment for insulin resistance."