Diabetes may originate in your gut

Diabetes may originate in your gut

Washington: 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 the new research, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studied 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.

"The first striking thing we saw was that the mice began losing weight. They had diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms, and when we looked closely at the tissue in the gut, we found a lot of inflammation," stated Wei, a research instructor in medicine.

Wei explained that the mice got sick because of a defect in fatty acid synthase. The mice without fatty acid synthase had lost the protective lining of mucus in the intestines that separates the microbes from direct exposure to cells. This allowed bacteria to penetrate otherwise healthy cells in the gut, making the mice sick.

Mice with defects in their ability to make the enzyme fatty acid synthase in their intestines develop
inflammation, and diabetes, say the scientists who determined in their research what happens in mice that can''t make FAS. (MORE) PTI MOT