Obesity May Lead To Type 2 Diabetes via Bacteria

Type 2 Diabetes through Staph Bacteria

Recently microbiologists from the University of Iowa have discovered that when rabbits have been chronically exposed to toxin produced by staph bacteria, they tend to develop symbols of type 2 diabetes like insulin resistance, inflammation and glucose intolerance. Patrick Schlievert, Lead researcher and professor of microbiology at the UI Carver College of Medicine, comments that they have basically produced type-2 diabetes, in rabbits merely through chronic exposure to staph super antigen. Importance of the study is how we know the changes of human microbiome with obesity and that one of these changes is based on increase in staph colonization as well as infections.

 This indicates that the bacterium could play a role in the development of type-2 diabetes and there could be a strong link between obesity and type-2 diabetes wherein the fat cells tend to contribute in the progress of the disease with changes in metabolism and chronic inflammation. Latest study indicate that obesity’s effect on the microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria together with the other microbes which tend to live in and on our bodies could be involved in affecting our health.

Super Antigens Interacting – Fat Cells/Immune System

Study published in the journal mBio conveys the growing evidence with regards to the role of bacteria as well as the viruses that have been causing non-infectious disease like cervical cancer – human papillomavirus and stomach ulcers – H.pylori bacteria. Professor Schlievert states that `people who are colonized by staph bacteria are being chronically exposed to the superantigens, the bacteria are producing’.

The team, in their research have shown that superantigens tend to cause inflammation by interacting with fat cells and the immune system and it is the systemic inflammation which leads to insulin resistance as well as other symbols of type-2 diabetes.Individuals, when they tend to gain weight are likely to have huge amount of staph bacteria residing on their skin and those who are colonized by staph bacteria are exposed chronically to the superantigens which the bacteria produce. The team discovered that the levels of staph superantigens in individuals who were heavily colonized with the bacterium were comparable to those that caused the rabbits to develop type-2 diabetes symptoms in their study.

A Way to Intercede & Alter Course of Diabetes

Therapies were suggested which could eliminate staph bacteria or could at least neutralize the super antigens and could also prevent or treat type-2 diabetes. Prof Schlievert clarifies that they are of the opinion that there is a way to intercede and alter the course of diabetes and that they are working on a vaccine against the superantigens and believe that this type of vaccine would prevent the progress of type-2 diabetes.

The professor together with his colleagues, in their previous work, had shown that superantigens, the toxins that staph bacteria produce, tends to disrupt the immune system and are also the cause of staph infections such as toxic shock syndrome, sepsis and endocarditis could kill.

The team are now planning to experiment a gel which could be utilised to eliminate staph from human skin since the gel is known to contain glycerol monolaurate which tends to destroy staph bacteria on contact. Thereafter they are speculating to test if the use of the gel could improve blood sugar levels in pre-diabetics.