Good bacteria in the gut bow diabetes before

Diabetes type 1, which occurs more frequently, especially in young people, can possibly be stopped by intestinal bacteria. This has found an international group of researchers with participation Berner.

People have almost endless many bacteria in the lower intestine - about 100 trillion (10 14 high). In order for our body contains more bacteria than 10mal body cells - and these tiny organisms are important for our health. They help us digest food and provide us with energy and vitamins.

These "good" bacteria in the gut, called commensal bacteria, stop the "bad" bacteria that cause infections, such as salmonella. However, when the bacteria in the gut get out of control, inflammation can develop in various places in the body, damaging the tissue. The intestine itself is often affected, and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease occur.

The good news: intestinal bacteria can also stimulate the production of hormones that stop the metabolic disease diabetes. This has now been proven by an international research group led by the University of Toronto and Prof. Andrew Macpherson from the Department of Clinical Research at the University of Bern and the Clinic for Visceral Surgery and Medicine at the Inselspital.

Their findings could be of particular help to children and adolescents affected by diabetes: in their case, the disease is caused by immune cells that damage special cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin (type 1 diabetes). The researchers hope that the newly gained understanding of intestinal bacteria will lead to new therapeutic approaches for affected children and adolescents. The study results are published in "Science Express".

Observations in animal models help

The research teams in Toronto and Bern demonstrated the connection between diabetes and intestinal bacteria in experiments with mice that are prone to diabetes. They discovered that gut bacteria, particularly in male mice, trigger biochemical reactions that can stimulate the production of hormones. These hormones can stop the development of diabetes. Now, these intestinal bacteria could be used specifically as a therapy for children and adolescents who are genetically susceptible to diabetes or already have it, by developing their protective effect by colonizing the intestines there.

The aim is to prevent the onset of diabetes

Since more and more children and young people are developing diabetes, doctors are now talking about a diabetes epidemic. This increase has developed over the last 40 years in parallel with our living environment, which has become more and more hygienic and clean. It is assumed that the immune system is less challenged and begins to turn against its own body. At the moment, a child who develops diabetes needs lifelong therapy. "We are now hoping for new therapies that can prevent the onset of the disease and protect predisposed children from developing diabetes," says co-leader of the study, Andrew Macpherson.

Bibliographic information:

Janet GM Markle, Daniel N. Frank, Steven Mortin-Toth, Charles E. Robertson, Leah M. Feazel, Ulrike Rolle-Kampczyk, Martin von Bergen, Kathy D. McCoy, Andrew J. Macpherson and Jayne S. Danska: Sex- specific differences in the gut microbiome drive testosterone-dependent protection from autoimmunity that is transferable by early life conditioning in the NOD mouse, Science Express, January 17, 2013,

DOI: 10.1126 / science.1233521

Source: Bern [ University ]